Namdapha flying squirrel

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iNamdapha flying squirrel
Fossil range: Recent
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Sciuridae
Tribe: Pteromyini
Genus: Biswamoyopterus
Saha, 1981
Species: B. biswasi
Binomial name
Biswamoyopterus biswasi
(Saha, 1981)

The Namdapha Flying Squirrel (Biswamoyopterus biswasi) is the sole species placed in the genus Biswamoyopterus. It is a flying squirrel endemic to India. It is listed as a critically endangered species due to habitat loss.

This flying squirrel is 40.5 cm from head to vent and has 60 cm long tail. The hindfoot is 7.8 cm and ear is 4.6 cm. The cheek teeth are simple and incisors not pigmented. Septae multiple in auditory bullae and sometimes honeycomb shaped with 10 to 12 cells in it.

The fur is reddish grizzled with white above. The crown is pale grey and the patagium is orangish. The underparts are white.

It was first collected in Deban on 27 April 1981. The Namdhapha flying squirrel is arboreal in habitat and lives in tall Mesua ferrea jungle on hill slpes. The species is nocturnal. No population estimates are available but the known habitat is in the catchment area of Noa Dihing river particularly on the western slope of Patkoi range.

[edit] References

  • CBSG CAMP Workshop, India (August 1997) (2000). Biswamoyopterus biswasi. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is critically endangered and the criteria used
  • Saha, S. S. 1981 A new Genus and a new species of flying squirrel (Mammalia: Rodentia: Sciuridae) from northeastern India. Bull. Zool. surv. India 4: (3): 331-336
  • Saha, S. S. 1985 Mammalia Rec. Zool.surv. India (Special Issue on Fauna of Namdapha: Arunachal Pradesh: A Proposed Biosphere Reserve) 82: (1-4): 321-330
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