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Chaitanya R, McGuire JA, Karanth P, Meiri S. Their fates intertwined: diversification patterns of the Asian gliding vertebrates may have been forged by dipterocarp trees. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20231379. [PMID: 37583322 PMCID: PMC10427812 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.1379] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2023] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 08/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The repeated evolution of gliding in diverse Asian vertebrate lineages is hypothesized to have been triggered by the dominance of tall dipterocarp trees in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. These dipterocarp forests have acted as both centres of diversification and climatic refugia for gliding vertebrates, and support most of their extant diversity. We predict similarities in the diversification patterns of dipterocarp trees and gliding vertebrates, and specifically test whether episodic diversification events such as rate shifts and/or mass extinctions were temporally congruent in these groups. We analysed diversification patterns in reconstructed timetrees of Asian dipterocarps, the most speciose gliding vertebrates from different classes (Draco lizards, gliding frogs and Pteromyini squirrels) and compared them with similar-sized clades of non-gliding relatives (Diploderma lizards, Philautus frogs and Callosciurinae squirrels) from Southeast Asia. We found significant declines in net-diversification rates of dipterocarps and the gliding vertebrates during the Pliocene-Pleistocene, but not in the non-gliding groups. We conclude that the homogeneity and temporal coincidence of these rate declines point to a viable ecological correlation between dipterocarps and the gliding vertebrates. Further, we suggest that while the diversification decay in dipterocarps was precipitated by post-Miocene aridification of Asia, the crises in the gliding vertebrates were induced by both events concomitantly.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jimmy A. McGuire
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Praveen Karanth
- Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Karnataka 560012, India
| | - Shai Meiri
- School of Zoology, Tel Aviv University 6997801, Tel Aviv, Israel
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Jamtsho Y, Dendup P, Wangdi L, Dorji R, Dorji R, Tshering B. First confirmed record of a woolly flying squirrel (Eupetaurus sp.) in Bhutan. JOURNAL OF VERTEBRATE BIOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.25225/jvb.22007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yonten Jamtsho
- Jigme Dorji National Park, Department of Forests and Park Services, Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, Royal Government of Bhutan, Gasa, Bhutan; e-mail: , , , , ,
| | - Pema Dendup
- Jigme Dorji National Park, Department of Forests and Park Services, Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, Royal Government of Bhutan, Gasa, Bhutan; e-mail: , , , , ,
| | - Leki Wangdi
- Jigme Dorji National Park, Department of Forests and Park Services, Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, Royal Government of Bhutan, Gasa, Bhutan; e-mail: , , , , ,
| | - Rinzin Dorji
- Jigme Dorji National Park, Department of Forests and Park Services, Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, Royal Government of Bhutan, Gasa, Bhutan; e-mail: , , , , ,
| | - Rinzin Dorji
- Jigme Dorji National Park, Department of Forests and Park Services, Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, Royal Government of Bhutan, Gasa, Bhutan; e-mail: , , , , ,
| | - Bep Tshering
- Jigme Dorji National Park, Department of Forests and Park Services, Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, Royal Government of Bhutan, Gasa, Bhutan; e-mail: , , , , ,
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Makarov VA, Panyutina AA. Running of the feathertail glider (Acrobates pygmaeus) on level ground: Gaits. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY. PART A, ECOLOGICAL AND INTEGRATIVE PHYSIOLOGY 2022; 337:366-380. [PMID: 34970868 DOI: 10.1002/jez.2573] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2021] [Revised: 12/11/2021] [Accepted: 12/14/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Gliding is a crucial adaptation to arboreal habitats in several groups of mammals. Along with certain advantages it imposes limitations on the quadrupedal running since it affects the locomotor apparatus. To estimate the impact on quadrupedal running in gliders, the feathertail glider (Acrobates pygmaeus) was chosen considering that the small size allows minor morphological modifications for aerial locomotion. The gaits were studied on horizontal flat substrate which made it possible to compare running technique of the glider with that of terrestrial mammals. In all analyzed plots the footfall sequence was found to be asymmetrical; in most cases the bound was used, in contrast, the gallop occurred only occasionally. The half-bound with the fore lead, the most usual asymmetrical gait in quadrupedal marsupials, was much less common in A. pygmaeus than the bound; the rare among mammals half-bound with the hind lead was also found. The bound was not only the most common gait but also the steadiest one; therefore we can conclude that A. pygmaeus uses all other asymmetrical gaits as transitional forms associated with changes in speed, direction, etc. The bound with extended suspension is probably preferred by A. pygmaeus because it most closely resembles gliding by posture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viktor A Makarov
- A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Aleksandra A Panyutina
- A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
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Jackson SM, Jansen JJFJ, Baglione G, Callou C. Mammals collected and illustrated by the Baudin Expedition to Australia and Timor (1800-1804): A review of the current taxonomy of specimens in the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle de Paris and the illustrations in the Muséum d'Histoire naturelle du Havre. ZOOSYSTEMA 2021. [DOI: 10.5252/zoosystema2021v43a21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Stephen M. Jackson
- Vertebrate Pest Research Unit, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Orange Agricultural Institute, 1447 Forest Road, Orange, New South Wales 2800 (Australia) and School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales,
| | - Justin J. F. J. Jansen
- Honorary Research Associate, Department of Vertebrates, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, P.O. Box 9517, 2300 RA Leiden (The Netherlands)
| | - Gabrielle Baglione
- Muséum d'Histoire naturelle, Ville du Havre, Place du Vieux Marché, F-76600 Le Havre (France)
| | - Cécile Callou
- Archéozoologie, archéobotanique: sociétés, pratiques et environnements (AASPE), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Case postale 55, 57 rue Cuvier F-75231 Paris cedex 05 (France)
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5
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Jackson SM, Li Q, Wan T, Li XY, Yu FH, Gao G, He LK, Helgen KM, Jiang XL. Across the great divide: revision of the genus Eupetaurus (Sciuridae: Pteromyini), the woolly flying squirrels of the Himalayan region, with the description of two new species. Zool J Linn Soc 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
The woolly flying squirrel, Eupetaurus cinereus, is among the rarest and least studied mammals in the world. For much of the 20th century it was thought to be extinct, until it was rediscovered in 1994 in northern Pakistan. This study outlines the first taxonomic and biogeographical review of the genus Eupetaurus, which until now has contained only a single species. Careful review of museum specimens and published records of Eupetaurus demonstrates that the genus occurs in three widely disjunct areas situated on the western (northern Pakistan and north-western India), north-central (south-central Tibet, northern Sikkim and western Bhutan) and south-eastern margins (north-western Yunnan, China) of the Himalayas. Taxonomic differentiation between these apparently allopatric populations of Eupetaurus was assessed with an integrative approach involving both morphological examinations and molecular phylogenetic analyses. Phylogenetic reconstruction was implemented using sequences of three mitochondrial [cytochrome b (Cytb), mitochondrially encoded 12S and 16S ribosomal RNA (12S, 16S)] and one nuclear [interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (IRBP)] gene fragment. Morphological assessments involved qualitative examinations of features preserved on museum skins and skulls, supplemented with principal components analysis of craniometric data. Based on genetic and morphological comparisons, we suggest that the three widely disjunct populations of Eupetaurus are each sufficiently differentiated genetically and morphologically to be recognized as distinct species, two of which are described here as new.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen M Jackson
- Vertebrate Pest Research Unit, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Orange Agricultural Institute, 1447 Forest Road,Orange, NSW 2800, Australia
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
- Division of Mammals, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013-7012, USA
- Australian Museum Research Institute, Australian Museum, 1 William Street, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia
| | - Quan Li
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China
- Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan 650201, China
| | - Tao Wan
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China
- College of Life Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610066, China
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710119, China
| | - Xue-You Li
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Fa-Hong Yu
- Interdisciplinary Center for Biotechnology Research, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
| | - Ge Gao
- Baoshan Management Bureau of Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve, Baoshan, Yunnan 678000, China
| | - Li-Kun He
- Gongshan Management Bureau of Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve, Gongshan, Yunnan 673500, China
| | - Kristofer M Helgen
- Australian Museum Research Institute, Australian Museum, 1 William Street, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia
| | - Xue-Long Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China
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Amson E, Bibi F. Differing effects of size and lifestyle on bone structure in mammals. BMC Biol 2021; 19:87. [PMID: 33926429 PMCID: PMC8086358 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-021-01016-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2021] [Accepted: 04/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Mammals are a highly diverse group, with body mass ranging from 2 g to 170 t, and encompassing species with terrestrial, aquatic, aerial, and subterranean lifestyles. The skeleton is involved in most aspects of vertebrate life history, but while previous macroevolutionary analyses have shown that structural, phylogenetic, and functional factors influence the gross morphology of skeletal elements, their inner structure has received comparatively little attention. Here we analysed bone structure of the humerus and mid-lumbar vertebrae across mammals and their correlations with different lifestyles and body size. RESULTS We acquired bone structure parameters in appendicular and axial elements (humerus and mid-lumbar vertebra) from 190 species across therian mammals (placentals + marsupials). Our sample captures all transitions to aerial, fully aquatic, and subterranean lifestyles in extant therian clades. We found that mammalian bone structure is highly disparate and we show that the investigated vertebral structure parameters mostly correlate with body size, but not lifestyle, while the opposite is true for humeral parameters. The latter also show a high degree of convergence among the clades that have acquired specialised (non-terrestrial) lifestyles. CONCLUSIONS In light of phylogenetic, size, and functional factors, the distribution of each investigated structural parameter reveals patterns explaining the construction of appendicular and axial skeletal elements in mammalian species spanning most of the extant diversity of the clade in terms of body size and lifestyle. These patterns should be further investigated with analyses focused on specific lifestyle transitions that would ideally include key fossils.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eli Amson
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115, Berlin, Germany.
- Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart, Rosenstein 1, 70191, Stuttgart, Germany.
| | - Faysal Bibi
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115, Berlin, Germany
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7
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Amson E. Humeral diaphysis structure across mammals. Evolution 2021; 75:748-755. [PMID: 33433007 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2020] [Revised: 11/24/2020] [Accepted: 01/06/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Long bones comprise articular ends (epiphyses) joined by transitional metaphyses and a diaphysis (shaft). The structure of the latter is often viewed as regularly tubular across tetrapods (limbed vertebrates). However, assessments of the bone structure along the whole diaphysis are rare. Here, I assess whole-diaphysis profiles of global compactness (bone fraction) of 164 species of extant and extinct therian mammals (marsupials + placentals) in a phylogenetically informed context. Generally terrestrial, mammals have acquired multiple times the highly specialized aerial, fully aquatic, and subterranean lifestyles, allowing to potentially associate specific traits with these lifestyles. I show that there is a consistent increase in global compactness along the diaphysis in most mammals. This pattern is modified in a limited number of specialized species: all aerial clades (gliders and bats) have rather uniform and low values, while cetaceans' humeral diaphysis is marked by a slightly more compact mid-diaphyseal region. Among subterranean clades, structure alterations are most obvious in fossorial talpids (true moles) and their highly modified humerus. These results call for the investigation of bone structure in whole skeletal elements of key fossils in order to reconstruct the patterns of evolutionary modifications associated with lifestyle transitions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eli Amson
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung, Invalidenstraße 43, Berlin, 10115, Germany
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8
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Panyutina AA, Chernova OF, Soldatova IB. Morphological peculiarities in the integument of enigmatic anomalurid gliders (Anomaluridae, Rodentia). J Anat 2020; 237:404-426. [PMID: 32458532 PMCID: PMC7476187 DOI: 10.1111/joa.13211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2020] [Revised: 04/08/2020] [Accepted: 04/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Scaly-tailed squirrels, the most poorly known group of gliding mammals, hold the record for variety of remarkable integument peculiarities. One of the most striking of these features is the scales on the tail, which apparently allow them to reduce energy costs when positioning themselves on a tree trunk. No less interesting is a peculiar spur that supports the flying membrane: the unciform element ('spur'). Despite the peculiarity of such elements, their nature has not yet been studied. Using anatomical, histological methods and scanning electron microscopy we studied the structure of the skin and its derivatives in five of the six species from both genera of extant gliding scaly-tailed squirrels (Anomaluridae, Rodentia): Idiurus macrotis, Idiurus zenkeri, Anomalurus beecrofti, Anomalurus pusillus and Anomalurus derbianus. In addition to the common mammalian skin structures, such as hair, vibrissae, sebaceous glands, meibomian glands of eyelids and eccrine sweat glands of the palmar and plantar pads, these animals have unique species-specific skin derivatives (the tail scaly organ and its specific glands, vibrissae of the withers, patagium and its hair brush) that play a significant role in their adaptation to gliding and to their environment in general. The structure of the elbow spur is also described and hypotheses on its evolutionary origin from the tendon of the triceps muscle are presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleksandra A. Panyutina
- A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of Russian Academy of SciencesMoscowRussia
| | - Olga F. Chernova
- A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of Russian Academy of SciencesMoscowRussia
| | - Irina B. Soldatova
- A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of Russian Academy of SciencesMoscowRussia
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9
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Li Q, Li XY, Jackson SM, Li F, Jiang M, Zhao W, Song WY, Jiang XL. Discovery and description of a mysterious Asian flying squirrel (Rodentia, Sciuridae, Biswamoyopterus) from Mount Gaoligong, southwest China. Zookeys 2019; 864:147-160. [PMID: 31367180 PMCID: PMC6658571 DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.864.33678] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2019] [Accepted: 04/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The flying squirrels of the tribe Pteromyini (Family Sciuridae) currently include 15 genera of which the genus Biswamoyopterus comprises two recognized species, B.biswasi Saha, 1981 and B.laoensis Sanamxay et al., 2013. These two species were each described from only one specimen that are separated from each other by 1,250 kilometres in southern Asia, where they occur in northeast India and central Lao PDR respectively. In 2017 and 2018, two specimens of Biswamoyopterus were discovered from Mount Gaoligong, west Yunnan province, southwest China (between the type locality of the two recognized species). This study aimed to evaluate the taxonomic status of these two newly acquired specimens of Biswamoyopterus by comparing their morphology with the two described species of the genus. The results of this study showed that the specimens from Yunnan province (China) differed from both B.laoensis and B.biswasi in both pelage colour and craniology, and should be recognised as a distinct species, B.gaoligongensissp. nov., which is formally described here. This study contributes to the understanding of the flying squirrels of southern Asia and identifies an additional species that appears to be endemic to southwest China; however, more research is required to provide details of its ecology, distribution, and conservation status.
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Affiliation(s)
- Quan Li
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences Kunming China.,Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Kunming China
| | - Xue-You Li
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences Kunming China
| | - Stephen M Jackson
- Biosecurity NSW, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Orange, New South Wales 2800, Australia Biosecurity NSW Orange Australia.,School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia University of New South Wales Sydney Australia.,Division of Mammals, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013-7012, United States of America National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution Washington United States of America.,Australian Museum Research Institute, Australian Museum, 1 William St. Sydney, New South Wales 2010, Australia Australian Museum Research Institute Sydney Australia
| | - Fei Li
- Kadoorie Conservation China, Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden, Lam Kam Road, Tai Po, Hong Kong, China Kadoorie Conservation China, Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden Hong Kong China
| | - Ming Jiang
- Baoshan Management Bureau of Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve, Baoshan, Yunnan, China Baoshan Management Bureau of Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve Baoshan China
| | - Wei Zhao
- Baoshan Management Bureau of Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve, Baoshan, Yunnan, China Baoshan Management Bureau of Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve Baoshan China
| | - Wen-Yu Song
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences Kunming China.,Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Kunming China
| | - Xue-Long Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences Kunming China
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11
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Booth R, Lack TJ, Jackson SM. Growth and development of the Mahogany Glider (Petaurus gracilis). Zoo Biol 2019; 38:266-271. [PMID: 30835876 DOI: 10.1002/zoo.21479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2018] [Revised: 01/08/2019] [Accepted: 02/01/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The growth and development of the endangered Mahogany Glider (Petaurus gracilis) was monitored in a captive population at Burleigh Heads, Queensland, Australia. Video surveillance confirmed that the gestation period for this species was 16 days. Morphometric data and developmental milestones were recorded from 10 Mahogany Gliders from birth to weaning. Growth curves were developed for head length, ulna length, tail length, and body weight. Weekly inspections of female pouches revealed the young's eyelid margins were visible by Day 21, the first hair erupted on the bridge of the nose at Day 30, pigmentation of the body developed at Day 63, and they started detaching from the teat intermittently, and the body was covered in short fur by Day 70. The young were left in the nest alone from Days 84 to 87, their eyes opened between Days 84 and 94, and there was a rapid increase in length and density of fur from Day 98 onwards. At Days 101 to 105 of age the young left the nest box with its mother as back young. Weaning occurred from 184 to 187 days. Typically, the reproductive rate was two young per annum per pair, but one pair produced five young in 19 months. Females produced young from 12 months to 7 years of age, males up to 9.4 years of age. The average longevity of Mahogany Gliders in the studbook in 2018 was 11.6 years. This study provides data on the reproductive biology of the Mahogany Glider that will assist in its captive breeding, management, and conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosemary Booth
- Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital, Australia Zoo, Beerwah, Queensland, Australia
| | - Traza-Jade Lack
- David Fleay Wildlife Park, West Burleigh, Queensland, Australia
| | - Stephen M Jackson
- Biosecurity & Food Safety, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Orange, New South Wales, Australia.,School of Biological, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.,Division of Mammals, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, District of Columbia.,Australian Museum Research Institute, Australian Museum, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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12
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Han G, Mao F, Bi S, Wang Y, Meng J. A Jurassic gliding euharamiyidan mammal with an ear of five auditory bones. Nature 2017; 551:451-456. [DOI: 10.1038/nature24483] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2017] [Accepted: 10/03/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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13
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First observations on the behavior of the flightless anomalure (Zenkerella insignis). ZOOLOGY 2017; 123:121-123. [PMID: 28712676 DOI: 10.1016/j.zool.2017.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2017] [Revised: 06/11/2017] [Accepted: 06/11/2017] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The sole extant representative of the ancient family Zenkerellidae, the flightless anomalure (Zenkerella insignis), is one of the world's least studied mammals. No first-hand observations of its behavior and live appearance have been published to date. I report an observation of Z. insignis behavior, live appearance and habitat in the Central African Republic.
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14
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Heritage S, Fernández D, Sallam HM, Cronin DT, Esara Echube JM, Seiffert ER. Ancient phylogenetic divergence of the enigmatic African rodent Zenkerella and the origin of anomalurid gliding. PeerJ 2016; 4:e2320. [PMID: 27602286 PMCID: PMC4991859 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.2320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2016] [Accepted: 07/13/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The “scaly-tailed squirrels” of the rodent family Anomaluridae have a long evolutionary history in Africa, and are now represented by two gliding genera (Anomalurus and Idiurus) and a rare and obscure genus (Zenkerella) that has never been observed alive by mammalogists. Zenkerella shows no anatomical adaptations for gliding, but has traditionally been grouped with the glider Idiurus on the basis of craniodental similarities, implying that either the Zenkerella lineage lost its gliding adaptations, or that Anomalurus and Idiurus evolved theirs independently. Here we present the first nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences of Zenkerella, based on recently recovered whole-body specimens from Bioko Island (Equatorial Guinea), which show unambiguously that Zenkerella is the sister taxon of Anomalurus and Idiurus. These data indicate that gliding likely evolved only once within Anomaluridae, and that there were no subsequent evolutionary reversals. We combine this new molecular evidence with morphological data from living and extinct anomaluromorph rodents and estimate that the lineage leading to Zenkerella has been evolving independently in Africa since the early Eocene, approximately 49 million years ago. Recently discovered fossils further attest to the antiquity of the lineage leading to Zenkerella, which can now be recognized as a classic example of a “living fossil,” about which we know remarkably little. The osteological markers of gliding are estimated to have evolved along the stem lineage of the Anomalurus–Idiurus clade by the early Oligocene, potentially indicating that this adaptation evolved in response to climatic perturbations at the Eocene–Oligocene boundary (∼34 million years ago).
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven Heritage
- Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences, Stony Brook University , Stony Brook, NY , United States
| | - David Fernández
- Department of Biological, Biomedical and Analytical Sciences, University of the West of England, Bristol, United Kingdom; Bioko Biodiversity Protection Program, Malabo, Bioko Norte, Equatorial Guinea
| | - Hesham M Sallam
- Mansoura University Vertebrate Paleontology Center, Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt; Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Drew T Cronin
- Bioko Biodiversity Protection Program, Malabo, Bioko Norte, Equatorial Guinea; Department of Biology, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - José Manuel Esara Echube
- Bioko Biodiversity Protection Program, Malabo, Bioko Norte, Equatorial Guinea; School of Environmental Sciences, National University of Equatorial Guinea, Malabo, Bioko Norte, Equatorial Guinea
| | - Erik R Seiffert
- Department of Cell and Neurobiology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California , Los Angeles, CA , United States
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Abstract
Animals that glide produce aerodynamic forces that enable transit through the air in both arboreal and aquatic environments. The relative ease of gliding compared with flapping flight has led to a large diversity of taxa that have evolved some degree of flight capability. Glide paths are curved, reflecting the changing forces on the animal as it progresses through its aerial trajectory. These changing forces can be under control of the glider, which uses specific aspects of anatomy to modulate lift, drag, and rotational moments on the body. However, gliders share no single anatomical or behavioral feature, and some species are unspecialized for gliding, producing aerodynamic forces using posture and orientation alone. Animals use gliding in a broad range of ecological roles, suggesting that multiple performance metrics are relevant for consideration, but we are only beginning to understand how gliders produce and control their flight from takeoff to landing. In this review, we focus on the physical aspects of how glide trajectories are produced, and additionally discuss the range of morphologies and postures that are used to control aerial movements across the broad diversity of animal gliders.
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Affiliation(s)
- John J. Socha
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Farid Jafari
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Yonatan Munk
- Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Greg Byrnes
- Department of Biology, Siena College, Loudonville, NY 12211, USA
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