Zenker's glide
| Zenker's glide | ||||||||||||
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Zenker's Gleitbilch ( Idiurus zenkeri ), museum specimen |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Idiurus zenkeri | ||||||||||||
| Matschie , 1894 |
Zenker's Gleitbilche ( Idiurus zenkeri ) is one of the two types of Gleitbilche . It occurs in two larger and several smaller separate areas of Africa south of the Sahara in the equatorial rainforest. The first describer, the German zoologist Paul Matschie , named the species after the botanist and zoologist Georg August Zenker .
features
Zenker's Gleitbilch is the smallest representative of the thorn-tailed squirrel and reaches a head-trunk length of about 6.3 to 7.5 centimeters, plus a tail that is about 8.3 to 10.4 centimeters long. The weight is about 18 grams. The rear foot length is 14 to 17 millimeters, the ear length 11 to 15 millimeters. The fur is soft and dense, the hair on the back is about 8 millimeters long. The back and stomach color is medium brown, the hair is dark gray at the base and light to medium brown in the middle and at the tip. The color of the head also corresponds to the fur on the back and does not have any special drawings. The vibrissae are long and reach a length of up to 35 millimeters. The ears are of moderate size and rounded at the tip, they are for the most part hairless.
The front legs are short and the feet have feathery hair on the outside. They have four toes of about the same length with black claws. The hind feet are slightly curved and have five toes, which are also about the same length. The sliding skin between the front and rear legs is well developed, on the forearm it is supported by a cartilage brace, the calcar . The fur on the back extends to the inner area of the sliding skin and most of the sliding skin is thinly covered with short black hair. On the underside, the peritoneum does not reach the sliding skin, but the underside is also sparsely covered in black hair. The tail is very long and reaches a length that corresponds to about 130% of the head-trunk length. He has two rows of short hair about 3 millimeters long on the outside, which are designed like a feather. In between there are individual 20 to 25 millimeters long brown or black hairs that point backwards at an angle of about 45 degrees.
The skull has an average total length of 20.9 millimeters (20.4 to 22 millimeters) and an average width of 12 millimeters (11.6 to 12.4 millimeters).
Distribution and habitats
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Zenker's Gleitbilch occurs in two larger and several smaller separate areas of Africa south of the Sahara in the equatorial rainforest. The westernmost occurrences are in Cameroon and the continental part of Equatorial Guinea ( Mbini ), it has also been proven in the border area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic and in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. An occurrence in the far west of Uganda is possible, but not sufficiently proven.
Way of life
Compared to the related large-eared glide bilch ( Idiurus macrotis ), Zenker's glide bilch is less known and less well researched. It is nocturnal and almost exclusively arboricolous . Zenker's Gleitbilche spend the day in tree hollows and are gregarious , so numerous animals - including other species - gather in a single tree hollow. In 1940, up to 100 sliding bilges (both species) were described in individual trees in Cameroon; in Equatorial Guinea, four Zenker's sliding bilges were found in a tree hollow together with two Lord Derby thorntail squirrels ( Anomalurus derbianus ) in 1974 . Little information is available about reproduction, and no pregnant females were caught in the Congo between May and September.
Systematics
Zenkers Gleitbilch is classified as an independent species within the genus of the Gleitbilche ( Idiurus ), which consists of two species and also includes the large-eared Gleitbilch ( Idiurus macrotis ). The first scientific description comes from the German zoologist Paul Matschie from 1894, who described the species using individuals from Yaoundé in Cameroon. He named the species after the botanist and zoologist Georg August Zenker , head of the scientific Yaoundé station in Cameroon.
Apart from the nominate form, no subspecies are distinguished within the species . When synonyms are Idiurus haymani and Idiurus kivuensis considered.
Status, threat and protection
Zenker's Gleitbilch is listed as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). This is justified with the comparatively large distribution area, the assumed large population figures and the moderate population decline. The populations and population numbers are not known, but no population-threatening factors are assumed for this species. In some cases, deforestation could pose a regional threat to the species.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Brian J. Stafford, Richard W. Thorington, Jr .: Idiurus zenkeri, Zenker's Pygmy Anomalure (Pygnmy Scaly-Tailed Flying Squirrel). In: Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Michael Hoffmann, Thomas Butynski, Meredith Happold and Jan Kalina (eds.): Mammals of Africa Volume III. Rodents, Hares and Rabbits. Bloomsbury, London 2013, pp. 614-615; ISBN 978-1-4081-2253-2 .
- ↑ a b c Idiurus zenkeri in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015.3. Posted by: R. Hutterer, J. Decher, 2008. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
- ↑ a b c Idiurus zenkeri ( Memento of the original from December 20, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . In: Don E. Wilson , DeeAnn M. Reeder (Eds.): Mammal Species of the World. A taxonomic and geographic Reference. 2 volumes. 3. Edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 .
- ↑ Bo Beolens, Michael Watkins, Michael Grayson: The Eponym Dictionary of Mammals. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2009, ISBN 978-0-8018-9304-9 , p. 459.
literature
- Brian J. Stafford, Richard W. Thorington, Jr .: Idiurus zenkeri, Zenker's Pygmy Anomalure (Pygnmy Scaly-Tailed Flying Squirrel). In: Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Michael Hoffmann, Thomas Butynski, Meredith Happold and Jan Kalina (eds.): Mammals of Africa Volume III. Rodents, Hares and Rabbits. Bloomsbury, London 2013, pp. 614-615; ISBN 978-1-4081-2253-2 .
Web links
- Idiurus zenkeri inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015.3. Posted by: R. Hutterer, J. Decher, 2008. Retrieved December 4, 2015.