Phylogenetic position of the small Kashmir flying squirrel, Hylopetes fimbriatus (≡ Eoglaucomys fimbriatus ), in the subfamily Pteromyinae

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Zoology
• Main Authors: Oshida, Tatsuo, Shafique, Chaudhry M, Barkati, Sohail, Yasuda, Masatoshi, Hussein, Nor Azman, Endo, Hideki, Yanagawa, Hisashi, Masuda, Ryuichi
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 2004
• Subjects: Animal Science and Zoology; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; Bering Strait; Howell
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z04-108; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z04-108

The phylogenetic relationships of flying squirrels (Pteromyinae) were studied by obtaining complete sequence data from the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene of eight Old World and two New World flying squirrel species, with special reference to the systematic and phylogenetic status among Hylopetes fimbriatus (Gray, 1837) (≡ Eoglaucomys fimbriatus (Gray, 1837)) from Pakistan, two Glaucomys Thomas, 1908 species from North America, and two Hylopetes Thomas, 1908 species from Southeast Asia. Phylogenetic trees supported clustering of (i) Belomys pearsonii (Gray, 1842), (ii) H. fimbriatus, the Glaucomys species, Hylopetes lepidus (Horsfield, 1823), and Hylopetes phayrei (Blyth, 1859), (iii) species of Pteromys G. Cuvier, 1800, and (iv) species of Petaurista Link, 1795. Early polytomic divergence among the flying squirrel genera could have taken place in the northern part of the Eurasian continent. The unclear divergence between the Old and New World flying squirrels shows that divergence among flying squirrel genera could have occurred before the formation of the Bering Strait. Hylopetes fimbriatus was more closely related to the two Glaucomys species than to H. lepidus or H. phayrei, supporting placement of the species fimbriatus in the monotypic genus Eoglaucomys Howell, 1915.