New worldly flying squirrels
| New worldly flying squirrels | ||||||||||||
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Assapan |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Glaucomys | ||||||||||||
| Thomas , 1908 |
The New World flying squirrels ( Glaucomys, in ancient Greek γλαυκός glaukos 'shiny', 'gray-blue', and μῦς mys 'mouse') are a genus of flying squirrels that are distributed in three species in North America and are the only group of flying squirrels to be found on the American continent .
features
The length of the head body is 22–26 cm, with a tail 9–18 cm. The Assapan is the smaller of the two species. The fur is gray or light brown on top and whitish on the underside. In shape they are very similar to the European flying squirrel . Northern and southern flying squirrels cannot be distinguished from one another by their color, as this is very variable in both species. An important feature is the tail, which in the northern flying squirrel is almost body-length, and in the southern flying squirrel is proportionally much shorter.
In investigations of all Glaucomys species it was found that the fur of the animals, in contrast to that of other squirrel species, fluoresces in a pink shade when irradiated with UV light . The biological significance of this fluorescence is unknown.
distribution
The New World flying squirrels are limited in their distribution to the North American continent and at the same time represent the only type of flying squirrel in America. The northern flying squirrel ( Glaucomys sabrinus ) occurs mainly in Canada and the north of the United States . The Assapan or southern flying squirrel ( Glaucomys volans ) lives in the eastern United States and the Humboldt's flying squirrel ( Glaucomys oregonensis ) lives along the western Pacific coast from Canada to California.
Way of life
Like all flying squirrels, they are nocturnal forest dwellers. The northern flying squirrel can be found almost exclusively in coniferous forests, the southern flying squirrel in all forest forms from boreal coniferous forests to tropical rainforests. The Assapan finds refuge in hollow trees or abandoned woodpecker holes , only occasionally building a nest. The northern flying squirrel, on the other hand, always builds a nest in the summer that is anchored between the branches and has a diameter of 30 to 40 cm.
The flying squirrels of North America have become far more cultural followers than their Eurasian relatives. Especially in winter they seek shelter in attics, in barns or in nesting boxes (which they do not use for nesting). Despite their relative frequency and lack of shyness, they are rarely seen because they are active at night. Newworldly flying squirrels do not hibernate, but especially the Assapan shows greatly reduced activity in cold weather.
Food is nuts, berries, fruits, twigs and mushrooms. Occasionally they also eat insects. If enough food is available, supplies are created for the winter.
Newworldly flying squirrels live socially. Sometimes up to fifty individuals can be found together in winter. Unlike the European flying squirrel, these groups are made up of animals of both sexes. After a gestation period of 40 days, the females give birth to two or three young. The northern flying squirrel raises offspring once a year, while the southern flying squirrel can have two births a year.
Systematics
The New World flying squirrels are classified as an independent genus of the flying squirrels. The Assapan or southern flying squirrel ( Glaucomys volans ) was described by Carl von Linné as early as 1758 , but he assigned it to the mice as Mus volans . Since he also cited the European flying squirrel (today Pteromys volans ) as Sciurus volans and thus two species with the same species name volans , the North American species was renamed Sciurus volucella by Peter Simon Pallas in 1778 and was later treated as Sciuropterus volucella . In 1908 Oldfield described Thomas Glaucomys as part of a division of the genus Sciuropterus as a subgenus of the same. This was raised and established in 1915 by Arthur Holmes Howell in the genus status.
They are the only genus of flying squirrels in America and consist of the following species:
- Assapan or southern flying squirrel ( Glaucomys volans ( Linnaeus 1758 )), southeast. Canada , Eastern United States , Mexico , Guatemala , El Salvador , Honduras
- Northern flying squirrel ( Glaucomys sabrinus ( Shaw 1801 )), Alaska , Canada, northern and western USA
- Humboldt's flying squirrel ( Glaucomys oregonensis ( Bachman , 1839 )) occurs along the North American Pacific coast from southern British Columbia to southern California.
Threat and protection
Southern and northern flying squirrels are common and are not becoming rarer these days. However, the IUCN has three subspecies of the northern flying squirrel on the Red List:
- Carolina flying squirrel ( Glaucomys sabrinus coloratus ), endangered; lives in the Appalachians at altitudes over 1500 m; it is dispersed into small, isolated populations by deforestation in the mountain forests.
- Virginia Flying Squirrel ( Glaucomys sabrinus fuscus ), endangered; also in the Appalachians over 1500 m; The causes of threat are the same as for the Carolina flying squirrel.
- Prince Wales Island Flying Squirrel ( Glaucomys sabrinus griseifrons ), threatened; endemic to the Prince of Wales Island, part of Alaska . Threatened by deforestation on the island.
supporting documents
- ^ Allison M. Kohler, Erik R. Olson, Jonathan G. Martin, Paula Spaeth Anich: Ultraviolet fluorescence discovered in New World flying squirrels (Glaucomys). Mammalogy, gyy177, Jan 23, 2019. doi : 10.1093 / jmammal / gyy177 ;
- ^ Richard W. Thorington Jr., John L. Koprowski, Michael A. Steele: Squirrels of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2012; P. 92 ff. ISBN 978-1-4214-0469-1
- ^ JL Koprowski, EA Goldstein, KR Bennett, C. Pereira Mendes: Genus Glaucomys. 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. 759-761.
- ^ Carl von Linné : Systema naturae. 10th edition, 1758; Volume 1, pp. 60, 63-64 ( digitized version ).
- ↑ Oldfield Thomas : The genera and subgenera of the Sciuropterus Group, with descriptions of three new species. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 1, 1908; Pp. 1-8. ( Digitized version ).
- ^ 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 )
- ^ Brian S. Arbogast, Katelyn I. Schumacher, Nicholas J. Kerhoulas, Allison L. Bidlack, Joseph A. Cook and GJ Kenagy. 2017. Genetic Data Reveal A Cryptic Species of New World Flying Squirrel: Glaucomys oregonensis . Journal of Mammalogy. May, 2017, DOI: 10.1093 / jmammal / gyx055
literature
- JL Koprowski, EA Goldstein, KR Bennett, C. Pereira Mendes: Genus Glaucomys. 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. 759-761.
- Richard W. Thorington Jr., John L. Koprowski, Michael A. Steele: Squirrels of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2012; P. 92 ff. ISBN 978-1-4214-0469-1
- 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 .
