Sciurus meridionalis
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| Sciurus meridionalis | ||||||||||||
| Lucifero , 1907 |
Sciurus meridionalis is a species of squirrel from the genus of squirrels ( Sciurus ). It iswidespreadin southern Italy in the Calabria region and was first described in 1907 by the Italian scientist Armando Lucifero , but laterattributed tothe Eurasian squirrel ( S. vulgaris ). At the beginning of 2017 it was re-described by an Italian working group and raised again to species status.
features
general characteristics
Sciurus meridionalis is a medium-sized tree squirrel and is slightly larger than the Eurasian red squirrel ( S. vulgaris ). The rear foot length is 56 to 66 millimeters and the weight is between 280 and 530 grams. It usually weighs around 35% more than individuals of S. vulgaris from northern Italy. The hind foot length is also significantly greater than that of S. vulgaris . The animals do not show any pronounced sexual dimorphism in size and color, but the females are usually somewhat heavier.
The color of the back, the sides of the body, the tail and also the feet, balls of the feet and claws are black. The belly side is white from above the genital region to the area between the front legs. There is often an iron-gray line between the white abdominal area and the black sides of the body. There are also no known major seasonal color differences. The summer coat, and also the coat during the transition to winter, often has some dark brown areas on the head, around the eyes and on the back. The undercoat is generally matt black or iron gray, more rarely brown. The animals each have four tubercles on the base of the toes of the hind feet and five tubercles each on the front feet.
The females have eight teats in four pairs, one pair each pectoral, one inguinal and two abdominal.
Features of the skull and skeleton
The skull of S. meridionalis is larger than that of S. vulgaris from other regions of Italy, with both the skull length and the skull width as well as the length of the lower jaw being significantly greater. The lectotype , which was caught by the first describer at Petilia Policastro , had a skull length of 51.9 millimeters and a maximum width in the area of the zygomatic arches of 34.3 millimeters. The length of the nasal bones is 17.3 millimeters. The maxillary row of teeth is 10.0 millimeters long with a diastema of 13.3 millimeters, the length of the lower jaw is 32.5 millimeters.
Genetic traits
In addition to the morphological differences, genetic differences support the distinction between S. meridionalis as an independent species and S. vulgaris . These differences have been demonstrated using three different mitochondrial markers ( D-loop , cytochrome b and the DNA barcoding region of the gene of subunit I of cytochrome c oxidase COI) and other studies.
Distribution areas
Sciurus meridionalis is an endemic species in the mountainous regions of Calabria in southern Italy , where the distribution areas do not overlap with those of the Eurasian squirrel ( S. vulgaris ). The region has been biogeographically delimited and isolated from other regions of Italy since the beginning of the Quaternary by several uplift zones , from which three to four main uplifts result. Sciurus meridionalis lives in the northern massif of the Pollino , in the massif of the Aspromonte and in the Sila , in the massif of the Serre the species has not yet been detected.
Way of life and ecology
Like other tree squirrels, Sciurus meridionalis is diurnal and tree-living. It essentially corresponds to the Eurasian squirrel. The species prefers wooded areas and areas dominated by conifers. In surveys in the Sila it was found that the majority of the nests (Kobel) were built in about 60 to 70% of the tree height, with pines and oaks being the preferred trees. An average of 2.75 nests per hectare were found in stands of the Calabrian pine ( Pinus brutia ), 2.85 nests per hectare in birch-dominated forests and 2.0 nests per hectare in chestnut forests, whereupon a density of stands in the corresponding forests of an average of 0.44 to 0.61 squirrels per hectare was estimated. The density is strongly influenced by the tree density and the distance to the nearest pine forests as well as the availability of pine cones as the main food source. Fragmentation of the habitats has an effect on the population figures, but small-scale forest areas do not rule out the occurrence of the animals.
Systematics
Sciurus meridionalis is classified in the genus of squirrels ( Sciurus ), which consists of almost 30 species. It was first described as an independent species in 1907 by the Italian natural scientist Armando Lucifero , but later ascribed to the Eurasian squirrel ( S. vulgaris ) as a subspecies or partially not considered a subspecies in its own right.
In 2013, Sciurus meridionalis was included in a list of mammals in Italy as a separate species, although it was generally considered a subspecies of Sciurus vulgaris until then . In 2014, a working group headed by Giovanni Amori demonstrated significant differences in the skull dimensions of Calabrian squirrels; as early as 2009, Andrea Grill and colleagues were able to use studies of mitochondrial DNA to prove that the then known as S. v. meridionalis animals live in isolation in Calabria and have not mixed again with the northern and central Italian animals after the Ice Age. At the beginning of 2017, Lucas A. Wauters and colleagues raised Sciurus meridionalis to the status of species based on these results and further considerations on biogeography.
Status, threat and protection
So far there is no information on the population size of Sciurus meridionalis and the species is not included in endangerment lists such as the IUCN Red Lists (as of June 2017). It is assumed that the population is stable and partially expands the range. Despite the limited distribution area as endemic in a region of no more than 7000 km 2 , the authors of the new description assume that the species is not endangered. However, they also suggest that the spread of the introduced Finlayson's squirrels ( Callosciurus finlaysonii ) in regions close to the Sciurus meridionalis range could pose a potential future threat.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l Lucas A. Wauters, Giovanni Amori, Gaetano Aloise, Spartaco Gippoliti, Paolo Agnelli, Andrea Galimberti, Maurizio Casiraghi, Damiano Preatoni, Adriano Martinoli: New endemic mammal species for Europe: Sciurus meridionalis (Rodentia, Sciuridae). Hystrix, the Italian Journal of Mammalogy 28, 1. doi : 10.4404 / hystrix-28.1-12015
- ↑ a b c Giovanni Amori, Gaetano Aloise, Luca Luiselli: Modern analyzes on an historical data set: skull morphology of Italian red squirrel populations. ZooKeys 368, 2014; Pp. 79-89 doi : 10.3897 / zookeys.368.4691
- ↑ a b Peter WW Lurz, John Gurnell, Louise Magris: Sciurus vulgaris. Mammalian Species 769, 2005; Pp. 1-10. ( Full text )
- ↑ Mara Cagnin, Gaetano Aloise, Fabiola Fiore, Vincenzo Oriolo & Luc A. Wauters: Habitat use and population density of the red squirrel, Sciurus vulgaris meridionalis, in the Sila Grande mountain range (Calabria, South Italy). Italian Journal of Zoology 67 (1), 2000; Pp. 81-87. doi : 10.1080 / 11250000009356299
- ↑ a b P.C. Rima, M. Cagnin, G. Aloise, D. Preatoni, LA Wauters: Scale-dependent environmental variables affecting red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris meridionalis) distribution. Italian Journal of Zoology 77 (1), 2010; Pp. 81-87. doi : 10.1080 / 11250000009356299
- ↑ a b Eurasian Red Squirrel - Sciurus vulgaris. 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; Pp. 740-741. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .
- ^ 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. 73-76 .
- ↑ Spartica Gippoliti: Checklist delle specie dei mammiferi italiani (esclusi Mysticeti e Odontoceti): contributo per la conservazione della biodiversità. Bolletino del Museo Civico di Storia Naturasle di Verona (Botanica e Zoologia) 37, 2013: pp. 7–28. ( Full text ).
- ↑ Andrea Grill, Giovanni Amori, Gaetano Aloise, Irene Lisi, Guido Tosi, Lucas A. Wauters, Ettore Randi: Molecular phylogeography of European Sciurus vulgaris: refuge within refugia? Molecular Ecology 18, 2009; Pp. 2687–2699 doi : 10.1111 / j.1365-294X.2009.04215.x
literature
- Lucas A. Wauters, Giovanni Amori, Gaetano Aloise, Spartaco Gippoliti, Paolo Agnelli, Andrea Galimberti, Maurizio Casiraghi, Damiano Preatoni, Adriano Martinoli: New endemic mammal species for Europe: Sciurus meridionalis (Rodentia, Sciuridae). Hystrix, the Italian Journal of Mammalogy 28, 1. doi : 10.4404 / hystrix-28.1-12015
