Namdapha flying squirrel

Namdapha flying squirrel
Conservation status
Critically Endangered (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Sciuridae
Subfamily:	Sciurinae
Tribe:	Pteromyini
Genus:	Biswamoyopterus
Species:	B. biswasi
Binomial name
Biswamoyopterus biswasi Saha, 1981[2]

The Namdapha Flying Squirrel (Biswamoyopterus biswasi), the sole species placed in the genus Biswamoyopterus, is an arboreal, nocturnal flying squirrel endemic to India, and is listed as a critically endangered species due to habitat loss. First collected in Deban (on 27 April 1981), no population estimates are available for B. biswasi, but the known habitat is tall Mesua ferrea jungles, often on hill slopes in the catchment area of Noa Dihing river (particularly on the western slope of Patkoi range) in North eastern India .^[3][4]

Threats

It is hunted for food.

Details

B. biswasi has reddish, grizzled fur with white above. Its crown is pale grey, its patagium is orangish and its underparts are white.^[3][4]

The cheek teeth of B. biswasi are simple, and its incisors are unpigmented. Septae are multiple in auditory bullae and sometimes honeycomb-shaped with 10 to 12 cells in it.^[3][4]

It measures 40.5 cm from head to vent and has 60 cm long tail. The hindfoot is 7.8 cm and the ear is 4.6 cm.^[3][4]

References

1. ^ Molur, S. (2008). Biswamoyopterus biswasi. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 6 January 2009.
2. ^ Reference for taxonomic information from Don E. Wilson & DeeAnn M. Reeder (Eds.) (2005). Mammal Species of the World - A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). 
3. ^ ^{a b c d} Saha, S. S. (1981). "A new Genus and a new species of flying squirrel (Mammalia: Rodentia: Sciuridae) from northeastern India". Bull. Zool. surv. India 4 (3): 331–336. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d} Saha, S. S. (1985). "Arunachal Pradesh: A Proposed Biosphere Reserve". Mammalia Rec. Zool. surv. India (Special Issue on Fauna of Namdapha 82 (1-4): 321–330.