Mechuka giant flying squirrel
{{Short description|Species of rodent}}
{{speciesbox
| status = DD
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| classification_status = disputed
| genus = Petaurista
| species = mechukaensis
| authority = Choudhury, 2009
| synonyms =
}}
The Mechuka giant flying squirrel (Petaurista mechukaensis) is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. First described in 2007 from East Himalayan forests at altitudes of {{cvt|1500-2500|m|ft}} in the region of Mechuka of north-central Arunachal Pradesh in India,{{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 }} its taxonomic status and position is not fully resolved.{{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| volume=27 | issue=2 | pages=1–9 | doi=10.4404/hystrix-27.2-11688 }} it was originally described as P. nigra but has been replaced by mechukaensis because it was a primary homonym of P. nigra Wang 1981.{{cite book | author=Choudhury, A. | year=2013 | title=The Mammals of North East India |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}}
Taxonomy and appearance
In 2016, it was proposed that mechukaensis is the same species as the taxon nigra, which was described in 1981 from northwestern Yunnan in China and traditionally has been considered a part of the Indian or red giant flying squirrel.{{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 }} 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.{{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 }}{{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 | doi-access=free }} 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.{{cite book | author=Jackson, S.M. | year=2012 | title=Gliding Mammals of the World | publisher=CSIRO Publishing | pages=112–135 | isbn=9780643092600 }}{{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 }} 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, China, quite near to the border with Arunachal Pradesh, India. These two and mechukaensis have ochraceous–buff or orange–buff underparts, becoming deep rufous–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 hairs 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.