Black Flying Squirrel vs Closed Gentian

Aeromys tephromelas compared with Gentiana rubricaulis

Key Differences

• Black Flying Squirrel is Data Deficient while Closed Gentian is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Black Flying Squirrel	Closed Gentian
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Rodentia (Rodents)	Gentianales (Gentianales)
Family	Sciuridae (Squirrels)	Gentianaceae
Genus	Aeromys	Gentiana
Species	Aeromys tephromelas	Gentiana rubricaulis

Conservation Status

Black Flying Squirrel

DD — Data Deficient

Closed Gentian

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Black Flying Squirrel	Closed Gentian
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Black Flying Squirrel

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Closed Gentian

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Distributed across Canada and United States.

Black Flying Squirrel

The Black Flying Squirrel (Aeromys tephromelas) is a species in the genus Aeromys. Its conservation status is listed as Data Deficient, indicating insufficient data for assessment. Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Closed Gentian

The closed gentian or bottle gentian (Gentiana andrewsii) is a striking herbaceous perennial in the family Gentianaceae native to eastern and central North America, found from Quebec and New England west to Nebraska and south to Georgia. Unlike most gentians, the deep violet-blue flowers of this species remain permanently closed — the petals fused into a bottle-like shape through which only strong bumblebees, primarily Bombus species, can force entry to access nectar and pollen, making it a specialist of bumblebee pollination. Plants grow 30–60 cm tall in moist prairies, wet meadows, fens, stream banks, and open woodland edges, flowering in late summer and autumn when few other wildflowers are in bloom. The closed flower form prevents small insects from accessing floral rewards while selecting for robust, strong-flying pollinators capable of forcing the petals apart. Closed gentian is declining across its range due to loss of moist prairie and fen habitats, wetland drainage, invasive species competition, and the regional decline of specialist bumblebee pollinators, with which its reproductive success is closely linked.