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Jim Kenagy and collaborators discover new species of flying squirrel

Friday, June 9, 2017 - 09:15

For hundreds of years, a species of flying squirrel was hiding right under (actually, above) our noses.

A new study published May 30 in the Journal of Mammalogy describes a newly discovered third species of flying squirrel in North America — now known as Humboldt’s flying squirrel, or Glaucomys oregonensis. It inhabits the Pacific Coast region of North America, from southern British Columbia to the mountains of southern California. Until now, these coastal populations were simply thought to be the already-known northern flying squirrel.

“For 200 years we thought we had only had one species of flying squirrel in the Northwest — until we looked at the nuclear genome, in addition to mitochondrial DNA, for the first time,” said study co-author Jim Kenagy, professor emeritus of biology at the University of Washington and curator emeritus of mammals at the Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture.

Biologists used to classify the flying squirrels of California and the coastal Pacific Northwest as northern flying squirrels. It wasn’t until lead author Brian Arbogast, associate professor of biology at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, and formerly a postdoctoral researcher at UW and the Burke Museum, looked closely at the genetics of flying squirrel specimens from the Burke’s collections that it became apparent that they may be a different species. Flying squirrels collected since the early 1900s in the Pacific Coast region often looked smaller and darker than their counterparts from east of the Cascades.

Ultimately, it was DNA testing that revealed a third species unique to the Pacific Northwest.

The Humboldt’s flying squirrel is known as a “cryptic” species — a species that was previously thought to be another, known species because the two look similar.

Flying squirrel specimens from the Burke Museum's collection.

This new discovery of the Humboldt’s flying squirrel is the 45th known species of flying squirrel in the world. What are now three species of flying squirrels in North and Central America are all small, nocturnally-active, gliding squirrels that live in woodland habitats. These creatures don’t actually fly like bats or birds. Instead, they glide from tree to tree by extending furred membranes of skin that stretch from the wrist of the forearm to the ankle on the hind leg. Their feather-like tail provides extra lift and also aids in steering. The gliding ability of flying squirrels is remarkable; they are capable of gliding for up to 100 meters and can make sharp, midair turns by using their tail as a rudder and moving their limbs to manipulate the shape and tautness of their gliding membranes.

The squirrel specimens in the Burke Museum’s collections — and other natural history museums around the world — are standing by for future researchers to learn more about these remarkable “new” creatures.

 

Read the full article in UW Today.
More news: National Geographic 

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