White-bellied giant flying squirrel

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White-bellied giant flying 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 : White-bellied giant flying squirrel
Scientific name
Petaurista albiventer
( Gray , 1834)

The white-bellied giant sliding squirrel ( Petaurista albiventer , syn .: Petaurista petaurista albiventer ) is a sliding squirrel from the genus of the giant sliding squirrel ( Petaurista ). It is distributed in several separate populations across parts of northern India , Pakistan , Nepal, and the southern People's Republic of China to Thailand . The species status of the white-bellied giant sliding squirrel is controversial and in numerous representations it is assigned as a subspecies to the Taguan ( P. petaurista ).

features

The white-bellied giant sliding squirrel reaches a head-torso length of 32.6 to 55.0 centimeters and a tail length of 39 to 45 centimeters with a weight of 1.1 to 1.8 kilograms. The species is therefore relatively large within the genus. The back fur consists of long, silky hair and is dark mahogany-brown with white mottling. In terms of coloration, the species generally corresponds to the Taguan ( P. petaurista ), but has clear black circles around the eyes, red-brown cheeks, a white throat and a white belly and a black color in the rear third of the tail, which is otherwise light red-brown.

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 flight membrane is dark brown on top and white to light brown on the underside.

In Pakistan there is a population of melanistic , i.e. black, animals.

distribution

The white-bellied giant sliding squirrel occurs in two subspecies in parts of northern India , Pakistan , Nepal and the southern People's Republic of China as far as Thailand . The nominated form Petaurista albiventer albiventer can be found in India in the Punjab region and Uttarakhand , in Nepal, Pakistan and in the southeast of Tibet and in the northwest of Yunnan . Petaurista albiventer barroni lives in Thailand from the northern province of Phitsanulok to the south of the country.

Way of life

The white-bellied giant gliding squirrel lives in moderately tempered and humid forest areas, while the subspecies Petaurista albiventer barroni occurs in Thailand at altitudes of 1350 to 3050 meters. It is strictly arboreal and nocturnal and feeds on leaves from the Pindrow fir ( Abies pindrow ) and the teardrop pine ( Pinus wallichiana ), the oak species Quercus floribunda , the Himalayan poplar Populus ciliate , the elm species Ulmus wallichiana and other tree species . It also eats buds, cones, seeds, flowers, fruits, bark and lichens. In October the species prefers the acorns of Quercus dilatata and in July chestnuts of the Indian horse chestnut ( Aesculus indica ) and nuts of the real walnut ( Jiglans regia ). Like all other flying squirrels, this species is also able to glide over long distances by jumping off a tree.

The animals create their nests in trees. They spend the day in the nests or in tree hollows and only come out at night. They are active all year round and do not hibernate .

Systematics

The first scientific description of the white-bellied giant sliding squirrel comes from John Edward Gray from 1834, who described the species as Pteromys albiventer from Nepal.

The species status of the white-bellied giant sliding squirrel is controversial and in some classifications it is listed as a subspecies of Taguan . 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 flying squirrel ( Petaurista ). Andrew T. Smith and Yan Xie pointed out in 2009 that the white-bellied giant flying squirrel is likely to be independent and should be separated from the Taguan. 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 white-bellied giant sliding squirrel is not listed as a separate species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN).

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i J.L. Koprowski, EA Goldstein, KR Bennett, C. Pereira Mendes: White-bellied 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 , p. 769.
  2. ↑ Don E. Wilson & DeeAnn M. Reeder (eds.): Petaurista petaurista albiventer in Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed).
  3. ^ Petaurista petaurista In: Richard W. Thorington Jr., John L. Koprowski, Michael A. Steele: Squirrels of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2012; Pp. 117-119. ISBN 978-1-4214-0469-1
  4. ↑ a b Red 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 .
  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: White-bellied 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 , p. 769.