Namdapha flying squirrel

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Namdapha flying squirrel
Skins of the three known Biswamoyopterus species, at the top the Namdapha flying squirrel

Skins of the three known Biswamoyopterus species, at the top the Namdapha flying squirrel

Systematics
Subordination : Squirrel relatives (Sciuromorpha)
Family : Squirrel (Sciuridae)
Subfamily : Tree squirrel and flying squirrel (Sciurinae)
Tribe : Flying Squirrel (Pteromyini)
Genre : Biswamoyopterus
Type : Namdapha flying squirrel
Scientific name
Biswamoyopterus biswasi
Saha , 1981

The Namdapha flying squirrel ( Biswamoyopterus biswasi ) is an Indian flying squirrel . Only one specimen is known to have been found in Arunachal Pradesh in 1981 and described by the Indian biologist Subhendu Sekhar Saha. No other specimen of this species has been found since then, and there are unconfirmed individual sightings.

features

The only investigated individual of the Namdapha flying squirrels has a head-trunk length of 40.5 cm and a 60.5 cm long tail. It is therefore a comparatively very large flying squirrel. The animal is red-brown on top with white-gray mottling, the sliding skins are glossy mahogany-red-brown on top. The head has a patch of pale violet-gray hair on the top, the muzzle region is also red-brown with a black line over the nose. The ears have showy tufts of hair. The belly side is colored white to white-gray, the underside of the sliding membranes red-orange and has a red stripe with gray mottling in the rear area. The tail is smoky-gray at the cylindrical base under the part of the posterior sliding skin stretching between the thighs (interfemoral) and then turns reddish brown towards the end of the tail, the tip is brown.

Like all flying squirrels, it has a hairy skin 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 sliding skin is muscular and reinforced at the edge, it can be tensed and relaxed accordingly in order to control the direction of the gliding flight.

Outwardly it has a great resemblance to a giant sliding squirrel ( Petaurista ), in contrast to this but ear tufts. The examination of the dentition revealed considerable deviations from all known flying squirrels. The incisors are pigmented red in all sliding squirrels, but not in this species. The tooth enamel and the size of the molars are also different.

distribution

Locations of the three known Biswamoyopterus species; the location of the Namdapha flying squirrel is marked with a blue star.

The Namdapha flying squirrel is so far only known from the region of the first description, which is in the Namdapha National Park in the western foothills of the Patkai in Arunachal Pradesh in East India . It is believed that the species is only found in this area in a single valley with an area of ​​less than 100 km 2 .

Way of life

No data are available on the lifestyle and ecology of the Namdapha flying squirrel. The habitat in Namdapha National Park is located in a valley at an altitude of 100 to 350 meters and is characterized by a tropical dry deciduous forest with a river. Like other species, it is likely arboreal and nocturnal.

Systematics

The Namdapha flying squirrel is classified as an independent species within the genus Biswamoyopterus , which until 2013 consisted only of this one species. The first scientific description of the species and the genus comes from the Indian zoologist Subhendu Sekhar Saha from 1981 on the basis of an individual from the region in the Namdapha National Park in the Tirap District in Arunachal Pradesh India. Saha named both the genus and the species after the Indian zoologist and conservationist Biswamoy Biswas , who led the expedition in which the species was discovered.

In 2013 a second species of the genus Biswamoyopterus from central Laos was described with the Laos flying squirrel ( Biswamoyopterus laoensis ) and in 2019 a third species from the Gaoligong Shan in China was described with Biswamoyopterus gaoligongensis .

No subspecies are distinguished within the species.

Existence, endangerment and protection

The IUCN has listed this squirrel as critically endangered. Since it has been seen so rarely and so far only scientifically documented once in 1981, it is assumed that it inhabits a tiny range of less than 100 km 2 and that the population is very small. In addition to the first description, only two further, unconfirmed sightings have been documented so far.

Above all, illegal hunting as a meat supplier is assumed to be a potential source of danger. In addition, there is a general loss of habitat during extreme rainfall ( monsoons ) due to floods and landslides. It is also assumed that the species is sensitive to disturbances and could be displaced by logging or the conversion of forest areas into agricultural areas.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b c d e f J.L. Koprowski, EA Goldstein, KR Bennett, C. Pereira Mendes: Namdapha Flying Squirrel Biswamoyopterus biswasi. 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. 769.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f Richard W. Thorington Jr., John L. Koprowski, Michael A. Steele: Squirrels of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2012; Pp. 89-90. ISBN 978-1-4214-0469-1
  3. ↑ a b c Subhendu Sekhar Saha: A new Genus and a new species of flying squirrel (Mammalia: Rodentia: Sciuridae) from northeastern India , Bulletin of the Zoological Survey of India 4, 1981. ( PDF )
  4. ↑ Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World. 2 volumes. 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD et al. 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9 .
  5. ↑ a b c Don E. Wilson & DeeAnn M. Reeder (eds.): Biswamoyopterus biswasi in Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed).
  6. ↑ Daosavanh Sanamxay, Bounsavane Douangboubpha, Sara Bumrungsri, Sysouphanh Xayavong, Vilakhan Xayaphet, Chutamas Satasook, Paul JJ Bates: Rediscovery of Biswamoyopterus (Mammalia: Rodentia: Sciuridae: Pteromyini) in Asia, with the description of a new species from Lao PDR. In: Zootaxa . Vol. 3686, No. 4, July 15, 2013, pp. 471-481, doi : 10.11646 / zootaxa.3686.4.5 .
  7. ↑ Quan Li, Xue-You Li, Stephen M. Jackson, Fei Li, Ming Jiang, Wei Zhao, Wen-Yu Song, Xue-Long Jiang: Discovery and description of a mysterious Asian flying squirrel (Rodentia, Sciuridae, Biswamoyopterus) from Mount Gaoligong, southwest China. ZooKeys 864, 2019; Pp. 147-160. doi : 10.3897 / zookeys.864.33678 .
  8. ↑ a b c Biswamoyopterus biswasi in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014.2. Posted by: S. Molur, 2008. Retrieved August 9, 2014.

literature

  • Richard W. Thorington Jr., John L. Koprowski, Michael A. Steele: Squirrels of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2012; Pp. 89-90. ISBN 978-1-4214-0469-1
  • JL Koprowski, EA Goldstein, KR Bennett, C. Pereira Mendes: Namdapha Flying Squirrel Biswamoyopterus biswasi. 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. 769.
  • Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World. 2 volumes. 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD et al. 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9 .

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