Yunnan giant sliding squirrel
| Yunnan giant sliding squirrel | ||||||||||||
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| Petaurista yunanensis | ||||||||||||
| ( Anderson , 1875) |
The Yunnan giant sliding squirrel ( Petaurista yunanensis , Syn .: Petaurista philippensis yunanensis ) is a sliding squirrel from the genus of the giant sliding squirrel ( Petaurista ). It occurs in the provinces of Yunnan , Sichuan , Guangxi and Xizang ( Tibet ) in the south of the People's Republic of China and in adjacent regions in the north of Myanmar , Vietnam and Laos . The species status of the Yunnan 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 Yunnan giant sliding squirrel reaches a head-torso length of 41.5 to 61.0 centimeters and a tail length of 49 to 61 centimeters and a weight of 0.7 to 1.2 kilograms. 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 dorsal fur as well as large parts of the dorsal sliding skin, the head and the tail are dark chestnut to chestnut brown, with the head and the back showing a fine white mottling, especially in young animals. The feet and parts of the legs are black. The belly side is woolly and creamy white in color, in some individuals this color turns into a light chestnut brown on the throat and belly. The ears, which are also brown, are large, rounded and only slightly hairy.
distribution
The distribution area of the Yunnan giant sliding squirrel extends over the greater region of Tibet with the Chinese provinces of Yunnan , Sichuan , Guangxi and Xizang in the south of the People's Republic of China , and it occurs in adjacent areas in the north of Myanmar , Vietnam and Laos .
Way of life
Very little information is available about the specific way of life of the Yunnan giant sliding squirrel, especially since it has long been assigned to the Indian giant sliding squirrel . The habitat is at altitudes of 1800 to over 4200 meters and is dominated by oak forests in which the animals live. 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 Yunnan giant sliding squirrel comes from John Anderson in 1875, who described the species as Pteromys yunanensis from Yunnan, China. In 1879 he corrected the name to yunnanensis in a new description.
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 ). Among other things, they relate to the results of molecular biological studies 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 Yunnan 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 populations of the species are largely unknown.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c d e f g h J.L. Koprowski, EA Goldstein, KR Bennett, C. Pereira Mendes: Yunnan 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.
- ↑ a b 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. 64.
- ^ 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
- ↑ 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 .
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 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: Yunnan 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.