The Yunnan woolly flying squirrel (''Eupetaurus nivamons'') is a species of very large

flying squirrel Flying squirrels (scientifically known as Pteromyini or Petauristini) are a tribe of 50 species of squirrels in the family Sciuridae. Despite their name, they are not in fact capable of full flight in the same way as birds or bats, but they ar ...

in the genus ''

Eupetaurus ''Eupetaurus'' is a genus of rodent in the family Sciuridae. Members of this genus are known as woolly flying squirrels. They are large to very large flying squirrels found in the highest rocky cliffs near the Tree line, treeline of the Himalayas ...

''. It is found on the southeastern margin of the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

, namely in northwestern

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...

and potentially

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

. It is thought to be the sister species to the

Tibetan woolly flying squirrel The Tibetan woolly flying squirrel (''Eupetaurus tibetensis'') is a species of very large flying squirrel in the genus ''Eupetaurus''. It is found in the south-central portion of the Tibetan Plateau, namely south-central Tibet, northern Sikkim, a ...

(''E. tibetensis''), from which it likely diverged during the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...

boundary. It differs from the

western woolly flying squirrel The western woolly flying squirrel (''Eupetaurus cinereus'') is a species of very large flying squirrel in the genus ''Eupetaurus''. It is native to northern Pakistan and northwestern India. It was long considered the only species in the genus un ...

(''E. cinereus'') in its more saturated brown dorsal pelage, and differs from ''E. tibetensis'' in its much shorter black tail tip. It also has a much wider rostrum than the other two ''Eupetaurus'' species. It has been documented (through both specimens and camera trap images) from two localities; Mount Gaoligong, the highest peak of the Gaoligong Mountains and a nationally protected

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

, and Biluo Snow Mountain, which is currently unprotected. In 2020, during a biodiversity survey conducted in northwestern Bhutan, images of a woolly flying squirrel closely resembling ''E. nivamons'' were captured via camera trap within the confines of Jigme Dorji National Park, though further research is necessary to positively identify the photographed specimen. It is thought to inhabit steep cliffs on

alpine tundra Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated alpine climate, harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alp ...

, where it feeds on ''

Juniperus squamata ''Juniperus squamata'', the flaky juniper, or Himalayan juniper is a species of coniferous shrub in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to the Himalayas and China. It represents the provincial tree of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (unofficial). Desc ...

''. Evidence for species activity is known even in the coldest and snowiest months of the year, indicating that it does not

hibernate Hibernation is a state of minimal activity and metabolic depression undergone by some animal species. Hibernation is a seasonal heterothermy characterized by low body-temperature, slow breathing and heart-rate, and low metabolic rate. It most ...

or migrate from the area. Due to its rarity and small habitat area, as well as the potential threats its alpine habitat faces from

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

, it has been recommended it be classified as

Near Threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify fo ...

on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

References

Eupetaurus Rodents of China Fauna of Yunnan Rodents of Myanmar Mammals described in 2021 {{Squirrel-stub

See also

References