Cashmere flying squirrel

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Cashmere flying squirrel
Systematics
Subordination : Squirrel relatives (Sciuromorpha)
Family : Squirrel (Sciuridae)
Subfamily : Tree squirrel and flying squirrel (Sciurinae)
Tribe : Flying Squirrel (Pteromyini)
Genre : Eoglaucomys
Type : Cashmere flying squirrel
Scientific name of the  genus
Eoglaucomys
AH Howell , 1915
Scientific name of the  species
Eoglaucomys fimbriatus
( Gray , 1837)

The cashmere flying squirrel ( Eoglaucomys fimbriatus ) is a flying squirrel of the Himalayas . It is found primarily in Kashmir , but also in adjacent parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan . Traditionally it is mostly placed in the genus of the horseshoe flying squirrel . Thorington established in 1996 why the cashmere flying squirrel deserved a place in its own class. The dentition, penis bones and carpal bones were included in this argument because of their differences.

features

The cashmere flying squirrel has a head-torso length of 23.5 to about 30 centimeters, plus a tail length of 25 to 33 centimeters and a weight of 300 to about 750 grams. The fur is dark gray to brown on top with black tints. The ventral side is creamy-whitish to gray-sand-colored. The tail is flattened at the base and has a round cross-section further back, it has a reddish base and a conspicuous black, blunt tip; the black color begins about half or two thirds of the tail length. The feet are usually colored black and the outside of the hind feet are provided with tufts of hair that originate between the base of the toes. The shape largely resembles the horseshoe flying squirrel of the genus Hylopetes .

In addition to the animals with standard staining, melanistic individuals were also observed. The two subspecies can be distinguished from each other mainly by tooth features.

distribution

Distribution areas of the Kashmir flying squirrel

The distribution area of ​​the Kashmir flying squirrel stretches from eastern Afghanistan over parts of Pakistan to the north of India , where it occurs in two subspecies, especially in the regions from Jammu and Kashmir to Uttarakhand .

Way of life

The habitat of the Kashmiri flying squirrel are coniferous forests of the northwestern Himalayas at altitudes between 1600 and 4000 meters. It lives in warm, humid forest regions with a population of evergreen deciduous and umbilical trees, the main species are the teardrop pine ( Pinus wallichiana ) and the Himalayan spruce ( Picea smithiana ) and in drier areas the Himalayan cedar ( Cedrus deodara ) and the stone Oak ( Quercus ilex ). It is possible that the animals descend into tropical pine forests at lower elevations by 900 meters in winter. Depending on availability, they build their nests in tree hollows or crevices in the rock in higher or in the branches of the trees in lower elevations, occasionally they also nest in or on the roofs of houses in residential areas.

The animals are nocturnal and spend the day in their nests or in tree hollows. They feed mainly on seeds from various plants, with a total of more than 22 food plants being identified. In addition, depending on the season and availability, there are fruits, berries, buds, blossoms, shoots and other parts of the plant as well as mosses, lichens, leaves and bark, especially in winter. Compared to Taguan ( Petaurista petaurista ), which is sometimes sympatric and often found in the same trees , the nutritional composition is determined much more by seeds than by leaves and other parts of plants. The working group led by the Pakistani zoologist Chaudhry M. Shafique attributes this to the differences in size and concludes from the comparison that a larger body size in the flying squirrels in this competitive situation is associated with a tendency towards a deciduous diet. Like other flying squirrels, the animals jump from the trees and, thanks to their sliding skin between their legs, can cover longer gliding distances. Gliding flights of more than 50 meters have been documented for the Kashmiri flying squirrel, but they can probably be longer, especially when jumping from higher positions.

Cashmere flying squirrels usually live in pairs, which also stay together with the young. The females of the Kashmiri flying squirrels give birth to a litter of two to four young twice a year, in spring and summer. When there are young in the nest, the two parents leave the nest individually to search for food, so that one parent always remains in the nest. Usually the male first goes in search of food and then the female. The young of the summer litter reach their full size in November of the same year. The most important enemy of this squirrel is the great spotted marten ( Martes flavigula ), which hunts the animals in the branches and in the nests.

Systematics

Phylogenetic classification of the Kashmir flying squirrel

 Further genera of flying squirrels


   


 Cashmere flying squirrel ( Eoglaucomys fimbriatus )


   

 Newworldly flying squirrels ( Glaucomys )



   

 Horseshoe Flying Squirrel ( Hylopetes )




Template: Klade / Maintenance / Style

The Kashmir flying squirrel was described in 1837 by John Edward Gray as Sciuropterus fimbriatus with the location "India". This was not corrected until 1837 for the western Himalayas and in 1955 for Shimla in Himachal Pradesh . The genus Eoglaucomys was first described by Arthur Holmes Howell in 1915 to distinguish it from the genus Glaucomys , but it was merged with Hylopetes by John Reeves Ellerman in 1947 and the Kashmir flying squirrel classified as the horseshoe flying squirrel Hylopetes fimbriatus . The independence of the genus Eoglaucomys was subsequently confirmed several times by Richard W. Thorington, among others, on the basis of morphological and later also on the basis of molecular biological characteristics.

On the basis of molecular biological characteristics, the Kashmir flying squirrel was classified as a closer relationship with the New World flying squirrels ( Glaucomys ) found in North America , which further hardened its status as an independent genus. They also confirm the hypothesis that the genera Glaucomys and Eoglaucomys are to be regarded as sister taxa, which was already established by Thorington and Karolyn Darrow, among others, on the basis of the bones of the wrists and by other authors. This relationship was also supported in this analysis as well as in another work by Thorington together with Diane Pitassy and Sharon A. Jansa from 2002. Today the cashmere flying squirrel is the only species within the monotypical genus. Another species described by Edward Blyth in 1847, Eoglaucomys baberi , is now considered a subspecies of the Kashmiri flying squirrel.

Within the species, two subspecies are considered, whose distribution areas are separated:

Threat and protection

The Kashmiri flying squirrel is classified as Least Concern (LC) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). This is justified by the comparatively large distribution area and the frequent occurrence of the species in its distribution area. There are no potential threats to the entire population, but locally selective logging, the conversion of forest areas into agricultural areas and the hunting of animals for the pet and fur trade can pose a threat.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n J.L. Koprowski, EA Goldstein, KR Bennett, C. Pereira Mendes: Genus Eoglaucomys. In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (Eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6) Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016, ISBN 978- 84-941892-3-4 , p. 759.
  2. ↑ Chaudhry M. Shafique, Sohail Barkati, Tatsuo Oshida, Motokazu Ando: Comparison of Diets between Two Sympatric Flying Squirrel Species in Northern Pakistan. Journal of Mammalogy 87 (4), Aug. 24, 2006; Pp. 784-789. doi : 10.1644 / 05-MAMM-A-225R2.1 .
  3. ↑ Anjali Goswami: Eoglaucomys fimbriatus, Kashmir flying squirrel in the Animal Diversity Web (ADW); accessed on August 19, 2019.
  4. ↑ a b c d e Tatsuo Oshida, Chaudhry M. Shafique, Sohail Barkati, Masatoshi Yasuda, Nor Azman Hussein, Hideki Endo, Hisashi Yanagawa, Ryuichi Masuda: Phylogenetic position of the small Kashmir flying squirrel, Hylopetes fimbriatus (≡ Eoglaucomys) f, in the subfamily Pteromyinae. Canadian Journal of Zoology 82 (8), 2004; Pp. 1336-1342. doi : 10.1139 / z04-108 .
  5. ^ Arthur Holmes Howell : Description of a new genus and seven new races of flying squirrels. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 28, 1915; Pp. 109-114. ( Digitized version )
  6. ↑ Richard W. Thorington Jr., Amy L. Musante, Charles G. Anderson, Karolyn Darrow: Validity of three genera of flying squirrels: Eoglaucomys, Glaucomys and Hylopetes. In: Journal of Mammalogy 77 (1), 1996; Pp. 69-83. doi : 10.2307 / 1382710 .
  7. ^ A b Richard W. Thorington Jr., Karolyn Darrow: Anatomy of the squirrel wrist: Bones, ligaments, and muscles. Journal of Morphology 246 (2), Nov. 2000; Pp. 85-102. doi : 10.1002 / 1097-4687 (200011) 246: 2 <85 :: AID-JMOR4> 3.0.CO; 2-5 .
  8. ↑ Richard W. Thorington Jr., Diane Pitassy, ​​Sharon A. Jansa: Phylogenies of Flying Squirrels (Pteromyinae). Journal of Mammalian Evolution 9 (1-2), June 2002; Pp. 99-135. doi : 10.1023 / A: 1021335912016
  9. ↑ a b c Eoglaucomys In: Richard W. Thorington Jr., John L. Koprowski, Michael A. Steele: Squirrels of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2012; Pp. 90-91. ISBN 978-1-4214-0469-1
  10. ↑ a b Eoglaucomys fimbriatus in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2019 Posted by: S. Molur, 2008. Accessed August 14 of 2019.

literature

  • JL Koprowski, EA Goldstein, KR Bennett, C. Pereira Mendes: Genus Eoglaucomys. In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (Eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6) Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016, ISBN 978- 84-941892-3-4 , p. 759.
  • Richard W. Thorington Jr. , John L. Koprowski, Michael A. Steele: Squirrels of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2012, ISBN 978-1-4214-0469-1 , pp. 90-91 .
  • Richard W. Thorington Jr., Amy L. Musante, Charles G. Anderson, Karolyn Darrow: Validity of three genera of flying squirrels: Eoglaucomys, Glaucomys and Hylopetes. In: Journal of Mammalogy . Vol. 77, No. 1996, pp. 69-83.

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