---
title: "Southern Flying Squirrel"
description: "Glaucomys volans — Mammals. The southern flying squirrel, sometimes called the assapan or polatouche, is a species of squirrel in the family Sciuridae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/southern-flying-squirrel
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Southern Flying Squirrel

> Glaucomys volans — Mammals. The southern flying squirrel, sometimes called the assapan or polatouche, is a species of squirrel in the family Sciuridae.

- Scientific name: *Glaucomys volans*
- Category: `mammals` (Mammals)
- Habitats: `forest` (Forest)
- iNaturalist observations: 5827
- Wikidata: [Q913350](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q913350)
- iNaturalist taxon: [46272](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/46272)

## Names

- en: Southern Flying Squirrel
- de: Südliches Gleithörnchen
- es: Ardilla voladora sureña
- fr: Petit polatouche
- nl: Noord-Amerikaanse vliegende eekhoorn
- pl: Assapan południowy

## Countries with the most observations

US (4290), CA (185), MX (14)

## Summary

The southern flying squirrel, sometimes called the assapan or polatouche, is a species of squirrel in the family Sciuridae. G. volans is one of three species of flying squirrels found in North America. It is found in deciduous and mixed woods in the eastern half of North America, from southeastern Canada to Florida. Disjunct populations of this species have been recorded in the highlands of Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras. There are 11 subspecies that are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_flying_squirrel

## Photo

![Southern Flying Squirrel](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/southern-flying-squirrel/medium.jpg)

Photo: Abigail Staffelbach · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/383396984

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/southern-flying-squirrel?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).