Smallest gliding rodent

The smallest gliding rodent is the pygmy scalytail Idiurus zenkeri, also known as a flying mouse. Native to Central and East Africa, including Cameroon, the two Congos, and Uganda, it has a maximum total length of 18 cm, of which more than half is accounted for by its very long, feather-like tail. It has a gliding membrane between the forelimb and hind limb on each side of its body, which it expands when leaping from a tree, enabling it to glide passively through the air and alight on another tree further away. Although superficially squirrel-like, it belongs to a totally separate family, the scalytails, Anomaluridae, named after the scale-like projections on the underside of their tail.