Adorable New Species of Flying Squirrel Discovered in China

A newly described metal money of flying squirrel is teaching researcher more about these enigmatic , tree - hop-skip rodents , but its threatened position means scientists will have to play tight .

Newresearchpublished today in ZooKeys describes Biswamoyopterus gaoligongensis , otherwise know as the Mount Gaoligong flying squirrel . Spotted in Yunnan Province , Southwest China , it ’s one of only three be intimate species of flying squirrel that go to the genus Biswamoyopterus , the other two being the Namdapha flying squirrel and the Laotian giant flying squirrel .

These nocturnal Asian animals are exceptionally rare . scientist only became aware of this genus in 1981 after the discovery of a lone Namdapha specimen in Namdapha National Park , a large protected area in India ’s Eastern Himalaya . The Laotian giant flying squirrel , aRed List peril metal money , was discovered in 2013 in the descriptor of bush pith being sell at a local food market in the Laotian province of Bolikhamxai . Both flying squirrels were think large , at between 3 and 4 Sudanese pound ( 1.4 to 1.8 kg ) , but they boast physical differences that justified the existence of two discrete species .

Biswamoyopterus gaoligongensis, a flying squirrel.

Biswamoyopterus gaoligongensis, a flying squirrel.Photo: (Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden)

Up until this new discovery , these were the only two specimens of Biswamoyopterus known to scientist . funnily , however , their domicile were secernate by 776 miles ( 1,250 kilometers ) in southerly Asia . Why the two closely pertain metal money should be differentiate by such a huge aloofness stay a scientific mystery story .

In a recent diagonal of fortune , a specimen belonging to Biswamoyopterus was unexpectedly uncovered in 2018 in the collections at the Chinese Academy of Sciences ’s Kunming Institute of Zoology ( KIZ ) . The scientist who made the discovery , Quan Li , traced the pedigree of the specimen to Mount Gaoligong in China ’s Yunnan Province . At first , the investigators thought they were dealing with another Namdapha flying squirrel , but closer review suggested it was something else . The brute was definitely Biswamoyopterus , but differences in its coloring , skull , and teeth pointed to a new species .

This prompted a field expedition to Mount Gaoligong involving researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences , Kadoorie Conservation China , the University of New South Wales , and other institutions . This lead in the discovery of another matching specimen , and field of operations observations of two live flying squirrel .

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The habitat of the newly described Mount Gaoligong flying squirrel.Image: (Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden)

Like the KIZ sample distribution , these squirrels featured a distinctive dark brown color ( including a blue brown scrotum that contrast heavily against its yellow - snowy underbelly ) , bi - colored pinna tuft , a short and wide skull , and unambiguously shaped teeth . Together , these differences warrant the creation of the third known metal money of Biswamoyopterus .

The discovery was also of import in price of the geographics involved .

“ The new species was learn in the ‘ blank area ’ traverse 1,250 km between the sequester habitat of the two have it away specie , which suggest that the genus is much more widespread than antecedently think , ” tell Quan in astatement . “ There is still Bob Hope for new Biswamoyopterus universe to be discovered in between or properly next to the already known localities . ”

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Image: (Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden)

Not much else is screw about the new coinage , and a hereditary depth psychology has not yet been guide . Like other members of its genus , however , it ’s nocturnal , prefing low - ALT forests and habitats near rivers .

The Mount Gaoligong flying squirrels were seen close to nearby colony , which is not great . Human activities could threaten an already sparsely populated metal money .

“ Therefore , there is an urgent need to examine the bionomics , dispersion , and preservation position of this rare and very beautiful genus , ” said Quan .

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