->Monkbot: Task 19: convert/update IUCN references to {{cite iucn}} using data from IUCN Red List API; IUCN status confirmed; IUCN status ref updated; (2/00:03.67);

2021-11-12T18:39:35Z

Task 19: convert/update IUCN references to {{cite iucn}} using data from IUCN Red List API; IUCN status confirmed; IUCN status ref updated; (2/00:03.67);

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{{Short description|Species of rodent}}
{{speciesbox
| status = DD
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref =<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Engelbrektsson, P. |author2=Kennerley, R. |date=2016 |title=''Petaurista mechukaensis'' |volume=2016 |page=e.T45959013A45973146 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T45959013A45973146.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>
| classification_status = disputed
| genus = Petaurista
| species = mechukaensis
| authority = [[Anwaruddin Choudhury|Choudhury]], 2007
| synonyms =
}}

The '''Mechuka giant flying squirrel''' (''Petaurista mechukaensis'') is a species of [[rodent]] in the family [[Sciuridae]]. First [[Species description|described]] in 2007 from East [[Himalaya]]n forests at altitudes of {{cvt|1500-2500|m|ft}} in the region of [[Mechuka]] of north-central [[Arunachal Pradesh]] in India,<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" /><ref name=Choudhury2007>{{cite journal | author=Choudhury, A. | year=2007 | title=A new flying squirrel of the genus Petaurista from Arunachal Pradesh in north-east India | journal=Newsletter and Journal of the Rhino Foundation for Nature in North East India | volume=7 | pages=26–32 }}</ref> its [[Taxonomy (biology)|taxonomic]] status and position is not fully resolved.<ref name=Krishna2016>{{cite journal | author1=Krishna, M.C. | author2=A. Kumar | author3=O.P. Tripathi | author4=J.L. Koprowski | year=2016 | title=Diversity, Distribution and Status of Gliding Squirrels in Protected and Non-protected Areas of the Eastern Himalayas in India | journal=Hystrix: The Italian Journal of Mammalogy | volume=27 | issue=2 | pages=1–9 | doi=10.4404/hystrix-27.2-11688 }}</ref> it was originally described as ''P. nigra'' but has been replaced by ''mechukaensis'' because it was a primary homonym of ''P. nigra'' Wang 1981.<ref name=Choudhury2013>{{cite book | author=Choudhury, A. | year=2013 | title=The Mammals of North East India | publisher=Gibbon books, Rhino Foundation with support from COA (Taiwan), Guwahati | pages=432 | isbn=9789380652023}}</ref>

==Taxonomy and appearance==
In 2016, it was proposed that ''mechukaensis'' is the same species as the [[taxon]] ''nigra'',<ref name=Krishna2016/> which was described in 1981 from northwestern [[Yunnan]] in China and traditionally has been considered a part of the [[Indian giant flying squirrel|Indian]] or [[red giant flying squirrel]].<ref name=JacksonThorington2012>{{cite journal | author1=Jackson, S.M. | author2=R.W. Thorington Jr. | year=2012 | title=Gliding Mammals – Taxonomy of Living and Extinct Species | journal=Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology | volume=638 | issue=638 | pages=1–117 | doi=10.5479/si.00810282.638.1 | url=https://figshare.com/articles/Gliding_Mammals_Taxonomy_of_Living_and_Extinct_Species/9762035 }}</ref> If confirmed and recognized as a distinct species, this means that the correct scientific name for the Mechuka giant flying squirrel is ''Petaurista nigra''.<ref name=Krishna2016/> In a [[Genetics|genetic]] study published in 2006, ''nigra'' (initially misidentified as ''[[Petaurista yunanensis|yunanensis]]'') was found to be closely related to ''[[Petaurista albiventer|albiventer]]''.<ref name=Yu2006>{{cite journal | author1=Yu, F.R. | author2=F.H. Yu | author3=J.F. Peng | author4=C.W. Kilpatrick | author5=P.M. McGuire | author6=Y.X. Wang | author7=S.Q. Lu | author8=C.A. Woods | year=2006 | title=Phylogeny and biogeography of the Petaurista philippensis complex (Rodentia: Sciuridae), inter- and intraspecific relationships inferred from molecular and morphometric analysis | journal=Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. | volume=38 | issue=3 | pages=755–766 | doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2005.12.002 | pmid=16414285 }}</ref><ref name=Li2017>{{cite journal | author1=Li, S. | author2=Z. Feng | year=2017 | title=Geographic Variation of the Large Red Flying Squirrel, Petaurista albiventer (Gray, 1834) (Rodentia: Sciuridae), with a Description of a New Subspecies in Southwestern China | journal=Pakistan J. Zool. | volume=49 | issue=4 | pages=1321–1328 | doi=10.17582/journal.pjz/2017.49.4.1321.1328 }}</ref> 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,<ref name=Yu2006/><ref name=Li2017/> which has been followed by several recent authorities.<ref name=Jackson2012>{{cite book | author=Jackson, S.M. | year=2012 | title=Gliding Mammals of the World | publisher=CSIRO Publishing | pages=112–135 | isbn=9780643092600 }}</ref><ref name=Datta2015>{{cite book | author1=Datta, R. | author2=R. Nandini | year= 2015| chapter=Sciurids | pages=513–573 | editor1=A.J.T. Johnsingh | editor2=N. Manjrekar | title=Mammals of South Asia | volume=2 | publisher=Universities Press, India | isbn=9788173715891 }}</ref> Based on genetic evidence, ''nigra'' can be considered a subspecies of ''P. albiventer'' or a closely related separate species.<ref name=Yu2006/><ref name=Li2017/> In 2017, a new subspecies ''muzongensis'' that is closely associated with ''nigra'' was described from southeastern [[Xizang]], China, quite near to the border with Arunachal Pradesh, India. These two and ''mechukaensis'' have [[ochraceous]]–[[Buff (colour)|buff]] or orange–buff underparts, becoming deep [[rufous]]–[[Chestnut (color)|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 [[Cream (colour)|creamy]]–white [[guard hair]]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 [[Synonym (taxonomy)|identical]]).<ref name=Choudhury2007/><ref name=Li2017/> Based on a small number of [[Zoological specimen|specimens]], ''nigra'', ''muzongensis'' and ''mechukaensis'' are relatively large, with measurements in the upper range of that reported for the red giant flying squirrel.<ref name=Choudhury2007/><ref name=Li2017/><ref name=Jackson2012/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{taxonbar|from=Q42901194}}

[[Category:Petaurista]]

Mechuka giant flying squirrel - Revision history

->Monkbot: Task 19: convert/update IUCN references to {{cite iucn}} using data from IUCN Red List API; IUCN status confirmed; IUCN status ref updated; (2/00:03.67);