Travancore flying squirrel

The Travancore flying squirrel (Petinomys fuscocapillus) is a flying squirrel found in Sri Lanka and the Western Ghats of South India. It was thought extinct until it was rediscovered in Kerala in 1989 after a gap of about a century, and was later confirmed in Sri Lanka after 78 years, where it is reported from wet and intermediate zones including the Sinharaja Forest Reserve. The head and body are about 32 centimetres long and the feather-shaped tail 25 to 29 centimetres, with reddish brown upperparts, ruddy-tinged grayish underparts and black whiskers. Two subspecies are recognised, one in the Western Ghats and one in Sri Lanka. It is a rare, nocturnal animal that eats mostly fruit, along with bark, shoots, leaves and sometimes insects.