Black Flying Squirrel vs

Aeromys tephromelas compared with Cocconeis pinnata

Key Differences

• Black Flying Squirrel is Data Deficient while is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Black Flying Squirrel
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Chromista (Chromista)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Ochrophyta (Ochrophyta)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Bacillariophyceae (Bacillariophyceae)
Order	Rodentia (Rodents)	Achnanthales (Achnanthales)
Family	Sciuridae (Squirrels)	Cocconeidaceae
Genus	Aeromys	Cocconeis
Species	Aeromys tephromelas	Cocconeis pinnata

Conservation Status

Black Flying Squirrel

DD — Data Deficient

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Black Flying Squirrel

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Habitat

Native to Europe and South America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Brazil, Norway, and Sweden.

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.

Cocconeis pinnata is a marine and brackish-water diatom in the family Cocconeidaceae, distinguished within the genus by the pinnate (feather-like) arrangement of its striae and the specific valve morphology of its silica frustule. As an adnate epiphyte, C. pinnata attaches to a wide variety of substrates in coastal and estuarine environments, including seagrass blades, macroalgal surfaces, sandy sediments, and biogenic hard substrates such as shells and coral rubble. The species has been documented from tropical and subtropical marine habitats across the Indo-Pacific and Atlantic, with records from South American coastal waters as well as other warm marine regions. Cocconeis pinnata plays a significant ecological role in seagrass ecosystems, where epiphytic diatom communities including this species form a productive biofilm layer on leaf surfaces that serves as food for grazing invertebrates, sea urchins, and small fish. In areas of excessive nutrient loading, however, proliferation of epiphytic algae including diatoms can shade out the underlying seagrass, contributing to meadow decline. The production and dissolution of silica frustules by marine benthic diatoms contributes to the benthic silica cycle, linking biological productivity with the geochemistry of shallow coastal sediments. Species-level identification of Cocconeis taxa requires electron microscopy due to subtle morphological differences. Conservation status has not been formally assessed.