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== НАУЧНЫЕ ЗАМЕТКИ =
==== RESEARCH NOTES ==
OCCURRENCE OF THE RED GIANT FLYING SQUIRREL (PETAURISTA PETAURISTA: SCIURIDAE) IN BANGLADESH
M. Tarik Kabir1, M. Farid Ahsan2, Ayesha Khatoon3, M. Mizanur Rahman2
1IUCN Bangladesh, Bangladesh email: tarikkabir84@gmail.com, bankmyna_chapai@yahoo.com 2University of Chittagong, Bangladesh email: faridahsan55@yahoo.com, op.mizanepu@gmail.com 3Bangladesh Bank Residential Complex, Bangladesh email: ayeshatanna@yahoo.com
Received: 15.09.2017
This report confirms the presence of the red giant flying squirrel Petaurista petaurista from the Idgarh Reserve Forest in Cox's Bazar (North) Forest Division in the southern part of Bangladesh. The chestnut-red dorsal body colour, white ventral surface, large and flesh-coloured nostrils, and gray long tail with blackish tip confirm the observed species as a red giant flying squirrel. Long-term monitoring, habitat protection and its ecology need to be studied for initiating further steps to conserve it in Bangladesh.
Key words: Bangladesh, Conservation, Cox's Bazar, Petaurista petaurista, Red giant flying squirrel
Bangladesh houses 127 species of mammals within 87 genera, 35 families and 13 orders (IUCN Bangladesh, 2015). Sciuridae is one of the major groups of rodents containing 9 species in Bangladesh (Ahmed et al., 2009; IUCN Bangladesh, 2015). They are mainly distributed in the planted vegetation, mixed-evergreen forest, deciduous forest and mangrove forest (Ahmed et al., 2009). Flying squirrels are the least studied rodent species in Bangladesh.
During surveying the western hoolock gibbon Hoolock hoolock (Harlan, 1834) population on 25 May 2017, one flying squirrel was seen sleeping on a bough of a Dipterocarpus sp. tree and the individual was identified as a red giant squirrel Petaurista petaurista (Pallas, 1766) (Fig. 1).
The chestnut-red dorsal body colour, white ventral surface, large and flesh-coloured nostrils, and gray long tail with blackish tip (Menon, 2014) confirmed its identification. This species can be distinguished from the Hodgson's flying squirrel Petaurista magnificus (Hodgson, 1836) and other similar species of flying squirrels present in the Indian subcontinent by its flesh-coloured nostrils, non-bushy long gray tail with black tip (Menon, 2014). The species was seen in the mixed-evergreen degraded forest at Idgarh Reserve Forest of Cox's Bazar District in the southern part of Bangladesh (Fig. 2).
This area is only about 20 km far away from Myanmar border and the geographical co-ordina-
tion is 21°32'59.40" N and 92°07'24.35" E. There are human settlements at the periphery of the forest where the squirrel was spotted. The major tree species of the forested areas are: Swintonia floribunda Griff. , Brownlowia elata Roxb., Dipterocarpus spp., Tetrameles nudiflora R.Br., Ar-tocarpus chama Roxb., Aphanamixispolystachya Wall, Hopea odorata Roxb., Lagerstroemia spp., Syzygium spp., Magnifera longipes Griff., Ficus spp. and Gmelina arborea Roxb. ex Sm.
Fig. 1. Observed red giant flying squirrel (Petaurista petaurista) on a bough of a Dipterocarpus sp. at the Idgarh Reserve Forest in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.
Fig. 2. The range of the red giant flying squirrel (red dot inside the black rectangle and place mark indicate the sighting location) (According to Duckworth, 2016; Goggle Earth).
Several authors (e.g., M.A.R. Khan, 1982, 2015; Sarker & Sarker, 1988; M.M.H. Khan, 2008) mentioned the occurrence of the red giant flying squirrel in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHTs) without mentioning any specific location. M.A.R. Khan (1982) reported the presence of this species in Bangladesh from a skin collected from Mahalchari forest of Khagrachari District by a Divisional Forest Officer of CHTs of Forest Department. M.A.R. Khan (2015) also forecasted that this species is possibly very rare or exterminated from the northeast forests of Bangladesh. Sarker & Sarker (1988) mentioned its occasional occurrence in CHTs and Sylhet forests. M.M.H. Khan (2008) assumed its presence in the southeast forests of Bangladesh. Kamruzzaman (2009) reported its presence in the southeast region of Bangladesh from secondary sources. The red giant flying squirrel is considered as Data Deficient species in Bangladesh (M.M.H. Khan, 2015) but globally it is Least Concern (Duckworth, 2016). Bangladesh is not included in the global distribution of this species (e.g., Srivasulu et al., 2004; Thorington et al., 2012; Menon, 2014; Sanamxay et al., 2015), although it may occur in the CHTs (M.M.H. Khan, 2015). The above reports (e.g., M.A.R. Khan, 1982, 2015; Sarker & Sarker, 1988; M.M.H. Khan, 2008; Kamruzzaman, 2009) instigated Duckworth (2016) to include Bangladesh in the world distributional range of the species as presumably occurrence. The presence of this species in Assam in India (Ray et al., 2012), is quite far away from the present sighting
place of Bangladesh. Sharma et al. (2014) mentioned its distributional range from Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Meghalaya, Sikkim and Utta-ranchal in India; Nepal and Pakistan of South Asia. The world distribution of this species is Afghanistan, India, China, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei Darussalam and Thailand (Duckworth, 2016).
The observing site of red giant flying squirrel is an edge of mixed evergreen degraded forest near to human settlement. Local people regularly enter into the forest for their daily needs (mostly collecting firewood and stems for household uses for both personal and commercial basis), and destroy the habitat of the squirrel and other wildlife. Enforcement of the forest protection law (Forest Law, 1927) and wildlife law [Wildlife (Conservation and Security) Act, 2012], regular patrolling, and community approach of biodiversity conservation can reduce the habitat destruction of the squirrel and other wildlife at Idgarh Reserve Forest. The occurrence of this species in other areas of Bangladesh has not yet been confirmed, so it is considered as less known mammal in Bangladesh. For this reason, an extensive programme should be taken to study the population, habitat preference and ecology of this species in Bangladesh.
Acknowledgments
We acknowledge Bangladesh Forest Department for giving us permission and kind support in the field. This opportunistic observation could not be possible without the work on western hoolock gibbon funded by the Save the Gib-
bon Conservation Fund, awarded by the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group Section on Small Apes. We are also grateful to Dr. Susan Cheyne, Vice Chair IUCN SSC PSG Section on Small Ape and Abdullah M. Abu Diyan for corrections of the manuscript. We are grateful to the local assistants and local community people for their kind supports in the field.
References
Ahmed A.T.A., Kabir S.M.H., Ahmad M., Ahmed Z.U., Begum Z.N.T., Hassan M.A., Khondker M. (eds.) 2009. Encyclopedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh. Vol. 27: Mammals. Dhaka: Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. 264 p. Duckworth J.W. 2016. Petaurista petaurista. In: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016:e. T16723A115138344. Available from: http:// dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS. T16723A22272173.en. IUCN Bangladesh. 2015. Red List of Bangladesh. Vol. 2: Mammals. Dhaka: IUCN Bangladesh Country Office. 232 p. Kamruzzan M. 2009. Petaurista petaurista (Pallas, 1766). In: A.T.A. Ahmed, S.M.H. Kabir, M. Ahmad, Z.U. Ahmed, Z.N.T. Begum, M.A. Hassan, M. Khondker (Eds.): Encyclopedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh. Vol. 27: Mammals. Dhaka: Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. P. 36-38. Khan M.A.R. 1982. Wildlife of Bangladesh: A Checklist.
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Ray P.C., Kumar A., Biswas J., Das N., Sangma A., Sarma K., Krishna M. 2012. Red giant flying squirrel (Petaurista petaurista) in Assam, India. Taprobanica: The Journal of Asian Biodiversity 4(2): 108-111.
Sanamxay D., Douangboubpha B., Bumrungsri S., Satasook C., Bates P.J. 2015. A summary of the taxonomy and distribution of the red giant flying squirrel, Petaurista petaurista (Sciuridae, Sciurinae, Pteromyini), in mainland Southeast Asia with the first record from Lao PDR. Mammalia 79(3): 305-314.
Sarker M.S.U., Sarker N.J. 1988. Wildlife of Bangladesh (A Systematic List with Status, Distribution and Habitat). Dhaka: The Rico Printers. 69 p.
Sharma G., Kamalakannan M., Venkataraman K. 2014. A Checklist of Mammals of India with Their Distribution and Conservation Status. ZSI e-publications, Kolkata: Zoological Survey of India. 123 p.
Srinivasulu C., Chakraborty S., Pradhan M.S. 2004. Checklist of sciurids (Mammalia: Rodentia: Sciuridae) of South Asia. Zoos Print Journal 19(2): 1351-1360.
Thorington R.W.Jr., Koprowski J.L., Steele M.A., Whatton J.F. 2012. Squirrels of the World. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. 459 p.
НАХОДКА ГИГАНТСКОЙ ЛЕТЯГИ (PETAURISTA PETAURISTA: SCIURIDAE) В БАНГЛАДЕШ
М.Т. Кабир1, М.Ф. Ахсан2, А. Хатун3, М.М. Рахман2
1МСОП Бангладеш, Бангладеш email: tarikkabir84@gmail.com, bankmyna_chapai@yahoo.com 2Университет Читтагонга, Бангладеш email: faridahsan55@yahoo.com, op.mizanepu@gmail.com 3Жилой комплекс Бангладеш-Банк, Дака, Бангладеш email: ayeshatanna@yahoo.com
Это сообщение подтверждает существование гигантской летяги (Petaurista petaurista) в заповеднике Идгар в лесном отделе Кокс-Базар в южной части Бангладеш. Спина каштаново-красного цвета, белое брюхо, большие, мясного цвета ноздри и серый длинный хвост с черноватым концом подтверждают, что наблюдаемый вид - это гигантская летяга. Долговременный мониторинг, сохранение местообитания и его экология нуждаются в изучении для следующей стадии сохранения вида в Бангладеш.
Ключевые слова: Petaurista petaurista, Бангладеш, гигантская летяга, Кокс-Базар, сохранение
