The Mechuka giant flying squirrel (''Petaurista mechukaensis'') is a species of

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are n ...

in the family

Sciuridae Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. Squ ...

. First described in 2007 from East

Himalaya 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 ...

n forests at altitudes of in the region of

Mechuka Mechukha or Menchukha (In Memba dialect, 'Men' means Medicine, 'Chu' means Water -streams, rivers, etc. & 'Kha' means Snow; Meaning "the land blessed with medicinal snow-fed water- river & streams") is a town, assembly constituency and subdivis ...

of north-central

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares ...

in India, its taxonomic status and position is not fully resolved. it was originally described as ''P. nigra'' but has been replaced by ''mechukaensis'' because it was a primary homonym of ''P. nigra'' Wang 1981.

Taxonomy and appearance

In 2016, it was proposed that ''mechukaensis'' is the same species as the

taxon In biology, a taxon ( back-formation from '' taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular n ...

''nigra'', which was described in 1981 from northwestern

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in 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 Kunming. The province borders the C ...

in China and traditionally has been considered a part of the

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

red giant flying squirrel The red giant flying squirrel or common giant flying squirrel (''Petaurista petaurista'') is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae (squirrels). It is found in a wide variety of forest–types, plantations and more open habitats with scatter ...

. If confirmed and recognized as a distinct species, this means that the correct scientific name for the Mechuka giant flying squirrel is ''Petaurista nigra''. In a genetic study published in 2006, ''nigra'' (initially misidentified as '' yunanensis'') was found to be closely related to '' albiventer''. The position of ''albiventer'' is itself disputed; although traditionally considered a subspecies of the red giant flying squirrel, strong evidence points to it being a separate species, which has been followed by several recent authorities. Based on genetic evidence, ''nigra'' can be considered a subspecies of ''P. albiventer'' or a closely related separate species. In 2017, a new subspecies ''muzongensis'' that is closely associated with ''nigra'' was described from southeastern

Xizang The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China in Southwest China. It was overlayed on the traditional Tibetan regions of Ü ...

, China, quite near to the border with Arunachal Pradesh, India. These two and ''mechukaensis'' have

ochraceous Ochre ( ; , ), or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colours produced ...

–

buff Buff or BUFF may refer to: People * Buff (surname), a list of people * Buff (nickname), a list of people * Johnny Buff, ring name of American world champion boxer John Lisky (1888–1955) * Buff Bagwell, a ring name of American professional ...

or orange–buff underparts, becoming deep

rufous Rufous () is a color that may be described as reddish-brown or brownish-red, as of rust or oxidised iron. The first recorded use of ''rufous'' as a color name in English was in 1782. However, the color is also recorded earlier in 1527 as a dia ...

– chestnut towards the edge of the patagium. The head and upperparts are dark chestnut, darker towards the upper back and head, and the tail is blackish. The taxon ''nigra'' can be distinguished by the scattered creamy–white

guard hair Guard hair or overhair is the outer layer of hair of most mammals, which overlay the fur. Guard hairs are long and coarse and protect the rest of the pelage (fur) from abrasion and frequently from moisture. They are visible on the surface of the fu ...

s on its mid to lower back (largely absent from head and shoulder region), resulting in this region having an overall dark but grizzled appearance unlike ''muzongensis'' and ''mechukaensis''. The taxa ''muzongensis'' and ''mechukaensis'', which were described close to each other but on separate sides of the China–India border, are extremely similar (if not identical). Based on a small number of specimens, ''nigra'', ''muzongensis'' and ''mechukaensis'' are relatively large, with measurements in the upper range of that reported for the red giant flying squirrel.

References

{{taxonbar, from=Q42901194 Petaurista