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The Anomaluridae are a family of rodents found in central Africa.[2] They are known as anomalures or scaly-tailed squirrels or [African] flying squirrels. The six extant species are classified into two genera.
| Anomalures Temporal range: Late Eocene to recent[1]
| |
|---|---|
| |
| Anomalurus beecrofti, Beecroft's flying squirrel Artist: Joseph Wolf, 1851 | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Suborder: | Anomaluromorpha |
| Family: | Anomaluridae Gervais in d'Orbigny, 1849 |
| Type genus | |
| Anomalurus Waterhouse, 1843
| |
| Genera | |
All anomalurids have membranes between their front and hind legs like those of the boreal flying squirrels, but they are not closely related to those, flying squirrels that form the separate tribe Petauristini of the family Sciuridae. They are distinguished by two rows of pointed, raised scales on the undersides of their tails.[3] The anatomy of their heads is quite different from that of the sciurid flying squirrels.
By extending their limbs, anomalures transform themselves into a gliding platform that they control by manipulating the membranes and tail.[4] Like North American flying squirrels, these species have a cartilaginous rod that aids them in maintaining the extension of the patagium when in flight; unlike flying squirrels, their cartilage originates at the elbow joint rather than at the wrist.[5]
Most anomalurid species roost during the day in hollow trees, with up to several dozen animals per tree. They are primarily herbivorous, and may travel up to 6 km (3.7 mi) from their roosting tree in search of leaves, flowers, or fruit, although they also eat a small amount of insects. They give birth to litters up to three young, which are born already furred and active.[3]
Anomalurids represent one of several independent evolutions of gliding ability in mammals, having evolved from climbing animals.[6][7] The others include the "true" or sciurid flying squirrels of boreal Eurasia and North America, the colugos or "flying lemurs" of Southeast Asia, and marsupial gliding possums of Australia.
Taxonomy
editTaxonomy follows Fabre et al. (2018).[8][9]
- Family Anomaluridae
- Genus Anomalurus
- Beecroft's flying squirrel, Anomalurus beecrofti
- Lord Derby's scaly-tailed flying squirrel, Anomalurus derbianus
- Pel's flying squirrel, Anomalurus pelii
- Dwarf scaly-tailed squirrel, Anomalurus pusillus
- Genus Idiurus
- Long-eared flying mouse, Idiurus macrotis
- Pygmy scaly-tailed flying squirrel, Idiurus zenkeri
- Genus Anomalurus
Fossil genera
editSeveral fossil genera are also known:
- Genus †Argouburus
- Genus †Kabirmys[10]
- Genus †Oromys
- Genus †Paranomalurus
- Genus †Pondaungimys
- Genus †Prozenkerella
- Genus †Shazurus
References
edit- ^ "Anomaluridae". Fossil finds. mindat.org (beta test). Keswick, VA: Hudson Institute of Mineralogy. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
- ^ Dieterlen, F. (2005). "Family Anomaluridae". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 1533. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
- ^ a b Fleming, Theodore (1984). "[article title not cited]". In Macdonald, D. (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Mammals. New York, NY: Facts on File. p. 632. ISBN 0-87196-871-1 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Anomalure". Britannica. Rodent (online ed.).
- ^ Waterhouse, George Robert (27 September 1842). "Descriptions of new species of quadrupeds collected by Mr. Fraser at Fernando Po". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 10: 125. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
- ^ Fabre, Pierre-Henri; Tilak, Marie-Ka; et al. (June 2018). "Flightless scaly-tailed squirrels never learned how to fly: A reappraisal of Anomaluridae phylogeny". Zoologica Scripta. 47 (4): 404–417. doi:10.1111/zsc.12286. S2CID 89754034.
- ^ Coster, Pauline M.C.; Beard, K. Christopher; Salem, Mustafa J.; Chaimanee, Yaowalak; Jaeger, Jean-Jacques (2015). "New fossils from the Paleogene of central Libya illuminate the evolutionary history of endemic African anomaluroid rodents". Frontiers in Earth Science. 3: 56. Bibcode:2015FrEaS...3...56C. doi:10.3389/feart.2015.00056. hdl:1808/22093.
- ^ Fabre, Pierre-Henri; Tilak, Marie-Ka; Denys, Christiane; Gaubert, Philippe; Nicolas, Violaine; Douzery, Emmanuel J.P.; Marivaux, Laurent (July 2018). "Flightless scaly-tailed squirrels never learned how to fly: A reappraisal of Anomaluridae phylogeny". Zoologica Scripta. 47 (4): 404–417. doi:10.1111/zsc.12286. S2CID 89754034.
- ^ Heritage, S.; Fernández, D.; Sallam, H.M.; Cronin, D.T.; Esara Echube, J.M.; Seiffert, E.R. (2016). "Ancient phylogenetic divergence of the enigmatic African rodent Zenkerella and the origin of anomalurid gliding". PeerJ. 4: e2320. doi:10.7717/peerj.2320. PMC 4991859. PMID 27602286.
- ^ Sallam, Hesham M.; Seiffert, Erik R.; Simons, Elwyn L.; Brindley, Chloe (September 2010). "A large-bodied Anomaluroid rodent from the earliest late Eocene of Egypt: Phylogenetic and biogeographic implications". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 30 (5): 1579–1593.
External links
edit- "Meet the scaly-tail glider". Zoology. Scientific American (blog). 4 March 2015.
Among the weirdest and most fascinating of rodents are the scalytails / scaly-tails, scaly-tailed squirrels, or anomalures, properly termed 'Anomaluridae'.