Squirrels of the World

(Rick Simeone) #1
Hylopetes bartelsi 99

buff y underparts but a white chest and axillae. The face
and sides of the neck are buff. The ears are large and
black at the base; the hands and feet are blackish.
H. a. orinus—Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Guangxi, and Zhe-
jiang (China). This form is a large subspecies. The termi-
nal three-quarters of the tail is black.


conservation: IUCN status—least concern. Population
trend—decreasing.


habitat: Throughout its range, the particolored fl ying
squirrel is found at midelevations in montane regions that
are classifi ed as either tropical or subtropical. In China this
species is found most often in oak (Quercus) and rhododen-
dron (Rhododendron) forests, at elevations up to 3500 m.


natural history: H. alboniger feeds primarily on a combi-
nation of fruits and nuts, as well as on leaves and other plant
parts. Breeding takes place in the spring, from April to mid-
June; the litter size is two to three. This species is nocturnal,
and it nests in tree cavities. In China, H. alboniger is often
sympatric with one or more species of Petaurista. This small
fl ying squirrel produces high-pitched vocalizations that can
be used to locate it in night surveys. H. alboniger is reported
to be one of 134 species of wild animals harvested for meat
by the indigenous people of northeast India.


general references: Duckworth, Tizard, et al. 2008; Hi-
laluddin et al. 2005; A. T. Smith and Xie 2008; Thomas 1921;
R. W. Thorington, Musante, et al. 1996.


Hylopetes bartelsi (Chasen, 1939)
Bartels’s Flying Squirrel

description: This species is similar to H. vordermanni, but
the whiskers and ear tufts are large and the tail is markedly
bicolored at the base. This species was formerly included in
Petinomys.

size: Male—HB 197.0 mm.
Sex not stated—HB 139.0 mm.

distribution: This species is endemic to Java (Indonesia).
It is known only from the type locality: on Mount Pan-
grango, in western Java.

geographic variation: None.

conservation: IUCN status—data defi cient. Population
trend—no information.

habitat: This species is thought to occupy both lowland
and montane subtropical and tropical primary forests.

natural history: Nothing is known about the biology of
this species.

general references: Corbet and Hill 1992; Duckworth
and Hedges 2008a.

Hylopetes alboniger. Photo courtesy Randall D. Babb.

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