Hainan giant squirrel

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Hainan giant squirrel
Systematics
Subordination : Squirrel relatives (Sciuromorpha)
Family : Squirrel (Sciuridae)
Subfamily : Tree squirrel and flying squirrel (Sciurinae)
Tribe : Flying Squirrel (Pteromyini)
Genre : Giant Sliding Squirrel ( Petaurista )
Type : Hainan giant squirrel
Scientific name
Petaurista hainana
GM Allen , 1925

The Hainan giant sliding squirrel ( Petaurista hainana , Syn .: Petaurista philippensis hainana ) is a sliding squirrel from the genus of the giant sliding squirrel ( Petaurista ). It is endemic to the Chinese island of Hainan . The species status of the Hainan giant flying squirrel is controversial and in numerous representations it is assigned as a subspecies to the Indian giant flying squirrel ( Petaurista philippensis ).

features

The Hainan giant gliding squirrel reaches a head-trunk length of 40.0 to 54.0 centimeters and a tail length of 45 to 60 centimeters. The species is therefore relatively large within the genus. Like all giant flying squirrels, it has a large and hairy flight membrane that connects the wrists and ankles and is enlarged by a fold of skin between the hind legs and the base of the tail. The flight membrane is muscular and reinforced at the edge, it can be tensed and relaxed accordingly in order to control the direction of gliding.

The back fur as well as large parts of the dorsal sliding skin and the upper areas of the front and rear legs are reddish brown with gray to black speckles, the individual hairs have a black base and tip as well as a reddish brown central part. The top of the head, the sides of the head and the chin as well as the neck behind the ears, the lower areas of the front and rear legs and the bushy tail are colored black and the gray-black ears have a white border. The hair on the throat is white with black tips, so the throat is gray to grayish white. The belly side as well as the inner surfaces of the legs and the underside of the sliding skin are white, with the hair partly having a gray base.

distribution

The Hainan giant sliding squirrel occurs only on the Chinese island of Hainan and is therefore endemic there .

Way of life

Very little information is available about the way of life of the Hainan giant sliding squirrel. Like all species of the genus, it is strictly arboreal and nocturnal and probably feeds mainly on leaves and other parts of plants. Like all other flying squirrels, this species is also able to glide over long distances by jumping off a tree.

Systematics

The first scientific description of the Hainan giant sliding squirrel comes from Glover Morrill Allen from 1925, who described the species under the name Petaurista hainana from Nam Fong on the Chinese island of Hainan.

The species status of the white-bellied giant flying squirrel is controversial and in some classifications it is listed as a subspecies of the Indian giant flying squirrel ( Petaurista philippensis ). In Jackson & Thorington 2012 and later in the Handbook of the Mammals of the World from 2016, however, it is treated as an independent species and classified in the genus of the giant sliding squirrel ( Petaurista ). Andrew T. Smith and Yan Xie pointed out in 2009 that the giant Hainan sliding squirrel is likely a separate species. They refer to the results of molecular biological investigations by Yu et al. 2006, according to which this species should be regarded as a separate species along with some others. This result was confirmed by further work by Li et al. 2013.

Existence, endangerment and protection

The Hainan giant sliding squirrel has not yet been listed as an independent species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). The status of the population on Hainan is largely unknown.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h J.L. Koprowski, EA Goldstein, KR Bennett, C. Pereira Mendes: Hainan Giant Flying Squirrel Petaurista albiventer. 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 , pp. 775-776.
  2. ^ Petaurista philippensis In: Richard W. Thorington Jr., John L. Koprowski, Michael A. Steele: Squirrels of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2012; Pp. 119-122. ISBN 978-1-4214-0469-1
  3. ↑ a b Indian Giant Flying Squirrel. In: Andrew T. Smith , Yan Xie: A Guide to the Mammals of China. Princeton University Press, 2008; P. 179. ISBN 978-0-691-09984-2 .
  4. ↑ Stephen M. Jackson, Richard W. Thorington Jr .: Gliding Mammals: Taxonomy of Living and Extant Species. Smithonian Contributions to Zoology 638, Smithonian Institution Press, Washington DC 2012; P. 57.
  5. ↑ Farong Yu, Fahong Yu, Junfeng Pang, C. William Kilpatrick, Peter M. McGuire, Yingxiang Wang, Shunqing Lu, Charles A. Woods: Phylogeny and biogeography of the Petaurista philippensis complex (Rodentia: Sciuridae), inter- and intraspeciWc relationships inferred from molecular and morphometric analysis. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 38 (3), March 2006; Pp. 755-766. doi : 10.1016 / j.ympev.2005.12.002
  6. ↑ Song Li, Kai He, Fa-Hong Yu, Qi-Sen Yang: Molecular Phylogeny and Biogeography of Petaurista Inferred from the Cytochrome b Gene, with Implications for the Taxonomic Status of P. caniceps, P. marica and P. sybilla. PLOS ONE , July 16, 2013 doi : 10.1371 / journal.pone.0070461

literature

  • JL Koprowski, EA Goldstein, KR Bennett, C. Pereira Mendes: Hainan Giant Flying Squirrel Petaurista albiventer. 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 , pp. 775-776.