The Mount Gaoligong flying squirrel (''Biswamoyopterus gaoligongensis'') is a species of large,

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the Animal locomotion, locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. Th ...

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 ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to highland forests in southwestern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. It is the third known member of the highly elusive genus ''

Biswamoyopterus ''Biswamoyopterus'' is a genus of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It contains three known species of very large flying squirrels, with '' B. laoensis'' being among the longest of all squirrels. They are distributed in forests in northeast India, ...

''. It was described from two specimens discovered in 2017 and 2018, in the vicinity of Mount Gaoligong in the western

Yunnan Province 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 ...

. These specimens were distinct from the other two species in the genus in both coloration and skull shape, indicating that they belonged to a distinct species. This species has also been photographed at two different localities at the eastern and western slopes of Mount Gaoligong. A single specimen of the Mount Gaoligong flying squirrel had a head-and-body length of , a tail length of and a weight of . Despite being distantly related, the Mount Gaoligong flying squirrel is easily confused with the more common Yunnan giant flying squirrel; they occur together at Mount Gaoligong. Its natural habitat is evergreen

broadleaf forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

at an altitude of about above sea level. Due to its restricted distribution and general rarity, it is threatened by human activities such as

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

and

poaching Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...

References

Biswamoyopterus Rodents of China Endemic fauna of Yunnan Mammals described in 2019 {{Squirrel-stub