Rats, also known as rats. Since ancient times, it has been inextricably linked to the Chinese people. From south to north, from east to west, they were strewn around the granary. He even became a member of the zodiac. It is also my genus.
This is a rat that is familiar with humans, a rat that runs on the ground. But in the dense forests of China, there is also a kind of rat that jumps up and down in the forest. Or they are more closely related to squirrels, which is the squirrel.
"Flying" squirrels
The taxonomic status of shrews is very unclear, and the results obtained by different fields of study are also different. There are weasels as the squirrel family in the squirrel family, there are also squirrels who "upgrade" to the subfamily of squirrels, and even "shrews". Different research materials produce different results.
However, no matter how it is classified, The Chinese squirrel is probably divided into these major genera:
Flying squirrel genus Pteromys
The woolly flying squirrel is a genus of Belomys
Black and white flying squirrels hylopetes
The genus Eupetaurus
The genus Petaurista
Compound-toothed shrew genus Trogopterus
Groove-toothed shrews are of the genus Aeretes
Biswamoyopterus of the genus Biswamoyopterus
Among them, the compound tooth shrew and the groove tooth shrew are endemic to China, and the IUCN rating is vulnerable. The downy shrew is endangered. All squirrels are at least protected animals in the country, and illegal hunting and injury are illegal.
"I'm a compound-toothed squirrel~" ( ́∀')
The weasel is mostly nocturnal and distributed in forests everywhere. The strange shape of their forelimbs and hind limbs is connected to a skin membrane that helps them glide for rapid transfer. This is the mystery of their "flight", so whenever they appear in the news report, they are always called "snow mountain flying foxes".
The gliding distance of the squirrel is usually proportional to the size of the body, and some large squirrels can glide at a distance of 100 meters.
Red and white weasel that is often reported in the news
The largest of the shrews is the velvet squirrel, which is also the largest squirrel, and an individual collected in Pakistan has a staggering length of 813 cm and a weight of 147 kg. The tail alone is 457cm long, accounting for half of the body. Worthy of being a squirrel, the tail is big.
The villus live at a high altitude of 2400-4800 m, and according to the analysis of their feces, they prefer pine needles, which account for more than 85% of its diet. To adapt to this peculiar food, they evolved jagged teeth to feed and crush pine needles.
The chubby fluffy squirrel is also the largest squirrel
Not all squirrels have such a bizarre feeding habit, and most squirrels still eat fruit and nibble on nuts. For example, the smallest of them, the Chinese-Indian Flying Squirrel, feeds on plants. There are also some squirrels that occasionally eat insects and pick mushrooms, as playful but idyllic as forest elves.
The Chinese-Indian flying squirrel is very thin to look at
Shrews generally give birth to calves 1 to 2 times a year. They court with special sounds, and different kinds of calls vary. Some species have complex calls and use their voices to communicate with their peers. The nests of squirrels are generally tree or caverns, and some species hibernate and some do not.
Having said all that, where can you see a weasel?
Squirrels are distributed in Xin, Mongolia, Hei, Liao, Ji, Ji, Tianjin, Yu, Sichuan, Yun, Guangdong, Qiong, Taiwan, Tibet, Zhejiang, Fujian, Chongqing, Hubei, Gansu and other provinces, only in Shanghai, Ningxia, Jiangsu, Anhui, Shandong and other provinces, only in Shanghai, Ningxia, Jiangsu, Anhui, Shandong. Among them, the compound-toothed shrew is widely distributed, covering 16 provinces in southwest, northwest, northeast and central China. Brown shrews are also common , with a distribution covering 13 provinces.
Provinces marked in red have the opportunity to see squirrels
The most common shrews in south-central China are mainly red and white shrews, with brownish-red fur and a white belly. The off-white head is also their characteristic. Most other shrews are concentrated in southwestern and northwestern China.
Red and white weasel, distinctively characterized
Mammals like the squirrel are not alone in yearning for the sky, and they are similar to honey bag shrews and scaly-tailed shrews. Compared to authentic shrews, honey marsappers are smaller. Although the tail is also large and hairy, it is more slender than the large tail of a squirrel. At the same time, the membrane of the honey bag is attached to its ankle, and when the membrane is unfolded, only the foot is exposed. The membrane of the squirrel is attached to the legs, and a small amputated hind limb can be seen when gliding. Honey marsups are a more mature pet species, while shrews are wild animals that can only be viewed from a distance and cannot be played close.
The squirrel, it's not a weasel
Regarding the scaly-tailed squirrel and the squirrel, the two are actually more distantly related, both have a gliding membrane, but only convergent evolution, that is, "because of similar habits and evolve similar structures". The base of the tail of the scaly-tailed squirrel has two rows of protruding scales, which is what distinguishes them from the squirrel. So Baidu is wrong to say that squirrels belong to the scaly-tailed squirrel family.
The scaly-tailed shrew, with two rows of scales on its tail, is its feature
I believe that many people have heard the saying that "the cold trumpet bird is actually a weasel", but this statement is actually not rigorous. It is believed that the cold trumpet bird is a shrew because researchers have found that the "five spirit fats" called the han trumpet bird droppings by the ancients actually belong to the compound tooth shrew. However, the cold trumpet bird is mostly a bird image in ancient pictures, which is a legendary bird that looks like it cannot be beaten with the eight rods of the squirrel, so the feces of the compound-toothed squirrel are called the bird droppings of the cold trumpet, which is more likely to be a speculation of the ancients about things that cannot be explained.
Five Spirit Fats!
The news of the Linyi fauna a few days ago was seen by everyone, and I will briefly introduce the researchers' findings here in the next issue of Chinese Paleontological Discoveries. If you like it, you can leave a like.