New species of flying squirrel from Southwest China added to the rarest and 'most wanted'

JULY 18, 2019

by Pensoft Publishers

Described in 1981, the genus Biswamoyopterus is regarded as the most mysterious and rarest amongst all flying squirrels. It comprises two large (1.4-1.8 kg) species endemic to southern Asia: the Namdapha flying squirrel (India) and the Laotian giant flying squirrel (Lao PDR). Each is only known from a single specimen discovered in 1981 and 2013, respectively.

Recently, in 2018, a specimen identifiable as Biswamoyopteruswas unexpectedly found in the collections of the Kunming Institute of Zoology (KIZ), Chinese Academy of Sciences by in-house expert Quan Li. It had been collected from Mount Gaoligong in Yunnan Province, Southwest China.

Initially, the individual was considered to belong to the "missing" Namdapha flying squirrel: a species considered as critically endangered due to hunting and habitat loss. The latter had not ever been recorded since its original description in 1981 and was already listed as one of the top 25 "most wanted" species in the world by the Global Wildlife Conservation.

However, a closer look at the specimen from KIZ made it clear that the squirrel exhibited a colouration, as well as skull and teeth anatomy, distinct from any of the previously known species in the genus.

Subsequently, joined by his colleagues from China (Xuelong Jiang, Xueyou Li, Fei Li, Ming Jiang, Wei Zhao and Wenyu Song) and Stephen Jackson from Australia, the team of Quan Li conducted a new field survey. Thus, they successfully obtained another specimen and, additionally, recorded observations of two other flying squirrels. As a result, they included a third member to the enigmatic genus: Biswamoyopterus gaoligongensis, also referred to as the Mount Gaoligong flying squirrel. This new to science species was described in a paper published in the open-access journal ZooKeys.

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Oldest fossil of a flying squirrel sheds new light on its evolutionary tree

Date:  October 9, 2018

Source:  eLife

The oldest flying squirrel fossil ever found has unearthed new insight on the origin and evolution of these airborne animals.

Writing in the open-access journal eLife, researchers from the Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP) in Barcelona, Spain, described the 11.6-million-year-old fossil, which was discovered in Can Mata landfill, approximately 40 kilometers outside the city.

"Due to the large size of the tail and thigh bones, we initially thought the remains belonged to a primate," says first author Isaac Casanovas-Vilar, researcher at the ICP. In fact, and much to the disappointment of paleoprimatologists, further excavation revealed that it was a large rodent skeleton with minuscule specialised wrist bones, identifying it as Miopetaurista neogrivensis -- an extinct flying squirrel.

Combining molecular and paleontological data to carry out evolutionary analyses of the fossil, Casanovas-Vilar and the team demonstrated that flying squirrels evolved from tree squirrels as far back as 31 to 25 million years ago, and possibly even earlier.

In addition, their results showed that Miopetaurista is closely related to an existing group of giant flying squirrels called Petaurista. Their skeletons are in fact so similar that the large species that currently inhabits the tropical and subtropical forests of Asia could be considered living fossils.

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Biswamoyopterus laoensis: New Species of Flying Squirrel from Laos

An international team of biologists from Thailand, UK and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic has described a new species of flying squirrel in the genus Biswamoyopterus.

The new species is named Biswamoyopterus laoensis. The suggested common name is the Laotian giant flying squirrel.

Biswamoyopterus laoensis is a large flying squirrel that weighs 1.8 kg and measures about 42 inches (1.08 m) in total length – the body is about 18 inches (0.46 m) long and the tail is 24 inches (0.62 m) long.

“It is a remarkable discovery for science. It is very rare species with large body size,” explained Mr Daosavanh Sanamxay, a masters student at the Prince of Songkla University in Thailand and a lead author of a paper published in the journal Zootaxa.

“The specimen of the Laotian giant flying squirrel was incidentally found on display for sale at a bush meat market in Central Lao PDR about a year ago.”

“It is probable that the specimen was caught by a local hunter in either the Nam Kading National Biodiversity Conservation Area or the Khammouan Limestone National Biodiversity Conservation Area.”

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New species of flying squirrel discovered in Laos food market

Laotian food markets prove rich in undiscovered fauna

August 2013. A new species of the flying squirrel has been discovered on a market stall in Lao PDR. A single specimen was collected from a local food market at Ban Thongnami, Pak Kading District, Bolikhamxai Province. 

The new species shows close affinities to a similar squirrel discovered in India in 1981 some 1250 kilometres away, which, until this day, is still only known from a single specimen. However, it differs substantially in colour. The single specimen was found in an area of central Lao PDR, which is characterised by its extensive limestone karst formations and which is home to other rare endemic rodents, including the Laotian rock rat (Laonastes aenigmamus), itself discovered in a food market, and the Lao limestone rat (Saxatilomys paulinae).

Genus includes just 2 species with 1 known specimen in each

In March-May, 1981, Dr. Shyamrup Biswas of the Zoological Survey India collected a unique flying squirrel from a proposed biosphere reserve in Namdapha, Tirap District, Arunachal Pradesh, India. It was subsequently described as a new genus and species, Biswamoyopterus biswasi Saha (1981), the Namdapha flying squirrel.

The species was listed as Critically Endangered in the IUCN Red List, and it hasn't been seen since. However, until now, the genus was only known from the single specimen.

In September 2012, a team from the National University of Laos undertook a survey of flying squirrels in the informal food markets of northern, central and southern Lao PDR. In the market at Ban (village) Thongnami, they observed several species for sale as ‘bush-meat'. In addition, there was a female specimen of a large flying squirrel, which superficially resembled P. philippensis but differed in a number of external characters. On subsequent examination in the university museum, this individual was also found to have cranial and dental characters that clearly differentiated it not just from Petaurista philippensis but from the genus Petaurista itself.

Courtesy of Zootaxa, click here to go to the online paper.

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Monkeys hate flying squirrels, report monkey-annoyance experts

http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2010/0730/Monkeys-hate-flying-squirrels-report-monkey-annoyance-experts]

Monkeys hate flying squirrels, report monkey-annoyance experts

Japanese macaques will completely flip out in when presented with a flying squirrels, a new study in monkey-antagonism has found. The research could pave the way for advanced methods of enraging monkeys.
By Adam Hadhazy, LiveScience Staff Writer / July 30, 2010

Researchers have observed small monkeys called Japanese macaques going bananas at the sight of a flying squirrel.

This riled-up response is probably just a false alarm, with the monkeys mistaking the squirrel for a predatory bird. On the other hand, male macaques – some of whom give chase and even attack a harmless rodent – might be trying to impress females in their troop. Although this tough-guy motive was not proved in a new study, "it is possible that adult or sub-adult male monkeys may be 'showing off' their fitness" as potential mates, said Kenji Onishi, an assistant professor of behavioral sciences at Osaka University and lead author of the paper being published in the current issue of the journal Primate Research.

Biologists and psychologists have long studied macaques' complex social interactions for insights into human evolution and behavior. However, much remains unknown about how macaques get along (or not) with other creatures. Better documentation of such encounters could reveal more about macaque societies as well as that of our shared primate forbearers.

"Human evolution occurred alongside primate evolution from a common mammalian ancestor," Onishi told LiveScience. "Therefore, it is important to learn the evolution of primates in understanding the previous steps in human evolution."