Bhutan giant flying squirrel

Bhutan Giant Flying Squirrel
Conservation status

Near Threatened  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Sciuridae
Genus: Petaurista
Species: P. nobilis
Binomial name
Petaurista nobilis
(Gray, 1842)

The Bhutan giant flying squirrel (Petaurista nobilis) is a species of rodent in the Sciuridae family. It is one of the largest among the flying squirrels.[2]

Distribution

It has a narrow range restricted to central Nepal, Sikkim and western Arunachal Pradesh in India, and Bhutan.[3] It could occur in neighbouring forests in southern Tibet and northern Bangladesh, although it has not yet been reported from these areas.

Identification

The squirrel has bright chestnut-brown upper parts with orange tips to some of the hairs and pale rufous underparts. It is pale fulvous on the top of the head, shoulders, and in a narrow streak in the middle of the upper parts.[3]

It was previously considered as a sub-species of Hodgson's giant flying squirrel but later elevated to a full species based on its distinctness.[4][5] Two sub-species are recognised: P n. nobilis and P n. singhei.

Ecology and habitat

Its natural habitat is temperate broadleaf forests typically recorded between 1500 m to 3000 m elevation, but could also occur in contiguous coniferous forests.[3] Reports from Arunachal Pradesh 100 km east of its previous eastern limits to the range of this species indicate possible larger range in North-east India.[3] It appears to breed between March and April.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Thapa, J., Molur, S. & Nameer, P. O. (2008). Petaurista nobilis. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 6 January 2009.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Stephen, Jackson; Peter Schouten. Gliding mammals of the world. Collingwood, Vic.: CSIRO Pub. p. 128. ISBN 978-0643092600.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 et. al, Richard W. Thorington, Jr. (2012). Squirrels of the world. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 116. ISBN 9781421404691.
  4. ↑ Ellerman, J R (August 1947). "A Key to the Rodentia Inhabiting India, Ceylon, and Burma, Based on Collections in the British Museum. Part I". Journal of Mammology 28 (3): 254. doi:10.2307/1375176. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  5. ↑ Srinivasulu, Chelmala; Bhargavi Srinivasulu. South Asian mammals : their diversity, distribution, and status (2012 ed. ed.). New York: Springer.