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A nocturnal member of the squirrel family searches for fungi, its favorite food.
一名松鼠家族的夜行成员在寻找它最喜欢的食物——真菌。
But fungi are spread in random patches throughout the forest and the squirrel has to cover large distances to find them.
但是，真菌在森林中的分布很随机，松鼠必须走很远的距离才能找到。
So this squirrel has evolved a special talent - it flies!
所以这只松鼠进化出了一种特殊的才能——它会飞！
The northern flying squirrel is just six inches long and weighs the same as a typical smartphone.
“北方鼯鼠”只有6英寸长，重量与一部普通智能手机相当，
Yet it can leap almost 150 feet between trees.
但它却能在树间跳跃近150英尺。
Its 'wings' allow it to glide through the canopy.
它的“翅膀”帮助它在树冠上滑翔。
Flying squirrels are an incredible piece of aeronautical engineering.
鼯鼠是航空工程中不可思议的一部分。
A large membrane stretches between their wrists and ankles and another smaller membrane runs between the ankles and tail.
他们的手腕和脚踝之间有一个大的膜，另一个小的膜在脚踝和尾巴之间。
Combined they form a parachute.
它们合在一起就形成了一个降落伞。
Flying squirrels have the longest limbs of all the squirrels to make their parachute as large as possible.
鼯鼠的四肢是所有松鼠中最长的，这样会把它们的降落伞尽可能地拉大。
A piece of cartilage on the end of each wing gives them an upturned tip, this reduces drag and increases stability.
它们每只翅膀的末端都有一块软骨能够使它们的翼梢朝上，这样便减少了阻力，增加了稳定性。
It's the reason many airplanes have upturned tips on their wings too.
这就是为什么许多飞机的机翼也会翻转。
The result is these incredibly long leaps at speeds of up to 20 miles an hour, allowing the squirrels to travel widely through the forest.
就是这令人难以置信的速度可达每小时20英里的长距离跳跃使得松鼠可以在森林中广泛穿梭。
