Tibetan Woolly Flying Squirrel

Description: Similar in size and appearance to the Pakistan Woolly Flying Squirrel; however, the upper parts of this species are typically more brown than grey.

The base of its fur is deep slatey-grey, succeeded by pale greyish-brown, followed by the exposed portion which is still paler and occasionally marked by white rings, narrowly tipped with black. Its fore and hind feet are brown, with hairs terminating in yellowish tips. Its underparts are grey, washing with yellow on the under surface of the membranes.

Distribution: Occurs in several localities in the eastern Himalayas including Sikkim (north-eastern India), Bhutan, Tibet (= Xizang, China) and Yunnan Province (south-western China). Found at elevations from 1500–3000 metres in mountainous regions with mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forests with Yunnan Pine (Pinus yunnanensis), Spruce (Picea sp.) and Junipers (Juniperus sp.).

Reproduction: Nothing is known.

Diet: Nothing is known.

Ecology: Very little known; it may have many similarities to the Pakistan Woolly Flying Squirrel due to the similarity of its teeth.

Status: Not Evaluated. This species is awaiting formal description.

Note: Originally described in 1878 by John Anderson, Superintendant of the Indian Museum in Calcutta (= Kolkata), it was not given a name and for many years was considered a disjunct population of the Pakistan Woolly Flying Squirrel.

Genetic studies have revealed that the two populations of woolly flying squirrels on either side of the Himalayas have been separated from each other for some 10.8 million years.