Let's take a look at their magic!
<h1>Dashing glider</h1>
First, scaly-tailed squirrels can glide, gliding distances of up to 100 meters or even 250 meters in a single glide. They have a large wing membrane connected between the front and back limbs, an additional membrane from the end of the hind limb to the base of the tail, and a membrane from the neck to the wrist. All of these membranes are very flexible. When they don't glide, such as climbing or lying on a tree, these membranes shrink. But when gliding, they stretch their limbs, and the wing membranes are completely stretched.
Although the cause of this is not fully understood, scaly-tailed squirrels do have special small body structures that support their unfolding membranes: their elbows have a huge spiny cartilage spur, almost an additional structure on the limb, which can be very long, in some species of scaly-tailed squirrels, the bone spur is the length of its forearm, at least half a claw; similar cartilage bone spur structures have been found in some gliding squirrels and gliding rodent fossils, but the bone spurs of these animals are grown on the wrist. It is not as long at the elbow as the scaly-tailed squirrel. When the wing membrane of the scaly-tailed squirrel is folded up, the structure that emerges from the side end of its forearm looks like a large upturned spike.
<h1>Tail draped with scales </h1>
Like some bats and cats, the narrow front and back limbs of scaly-tailed squirrels have curved claws, a special construction designed to accommodate vertical climbing. Not only that, but this habit of climbing vertical trees also allowed scaly-tailed squirrels to evolve a peculiar structure: a layer of large, rough stacked spiny scales that cover the underside of the scaly-tailed squirrel's tail and make up almost a third of the length of the entire tail. When scaly-tailed squirrels climb vertically on smooth trunks, this structure acts like a hiking pole and can act as "anti-slip".
<h1>A varied diet</h1>
Scaly-tailed squirrels are masters of bark gnawing, not only do they bite the outer layer of the trunk bare, but they also like to cut off all the twigs with their front teeth. Their recipes also include small berries and various fruits, leaves and even flowers. Although some scientists have reported that individual samples have eaten a large number of ants and termites, but this is a case, basically the scaly-tailed squirrel is still a "vegetarian" herbivorous animal. In search of leaves, flowers and fruits, they also leave the trees they inhabit and move 6 kilometers away.
In addition, the scaly-tailed squirrel's preference for "pruning branches" has exposed their range of motion to scientific observers. Because when you look up and see that there are no branches and leaves on the trunk of the tree at the same height, you know that it must be the gliding route and "backyard canteen" of the scaly-tailed squirrel.
<h1>Inferior reproductive ability </h1>
Available data show that scaly-tailed squirrels produce 1 to 3 litters in a litter, about two litters a year. This ability to reproduce is too inferior among rodents, because we are already familiar with the amazing performance of rats, mice and voles in reproduction. However, this is actually the norm for more rodents. Scaly-tailed squirrel pups are born with soft hairs and are active.
<h1>Giants and dwarfs in the family </h1>
Among the scaly-tailed squirrels, the largest Peys-scaled squirrel has a total length of up to 90 cm and a weight of 2 kg, making it the most gliding mammal. The smallest pygmy scaly-tailed squirrel is less than 20 cm long and weighs only 14 grams to 17.5 grams.
<h1>Scaly-tailed squirrels that do not glide </h1>
Finally, it is worth mentioning that although most of the surviving scaly-tailed squirrels are live gliders, heteroscale-tailed squirrels (also known as Cameroonian scaly-tailed squirrels) do not glide.
Heteroscale-tailed squirrels are a rodent species endemic to western Central Africa. Heteroscale-tailed squirrels were first identified and documented as a new species more than 20 years ago, but it wasn't until 2016 that three complete cadaver samples of them were found on the island of Bioko in Equatorial Guinea. Is it a remnant of an ancient ancestor that branched out to distinguish it from its gliding sisters? Scientists have been working on the history of scaly-tailed squirrels, but unfortunately the evidence for fossils is very limited. At present, heteroscaled squirrels remain a family member of the family Of Scaly Squirrels, belonging to the subfamily Lepidoptera.