Two new species of flying-squirell discovered

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It’s not easy making a living among the wind-scoured rock faces of the Himalaya, home to the world’s tallest mountains. Beyond large boulders and caves, only a few scraggly trees provide protection from predators and shrieking gusts.

Among the hardy inhabitants is the woolly flying squirrel (Eupetaurus cinereus), which, at five pounds and three feet long, is one of the world’s largest squirrels. It’s also one of the least known mammals on Earth: First named 130 years ago, the house cat-size rodent was believed extinct until its “rediscovery” in the 1990s.  

Kristofer Helgen, chief scientist and director of the Australian Museum Research Institute, has been drawn to animals that exist mostly as scientific question marks.

Intrigued by some recent squirrel sightings in the Himalaya, Helgen—a National Geographic Explorer—and his colleagues decided to dig deeper into this mysterious species by examining museum specimens and collecting data from sightings of the species, such as from camera traps. (Read about India’s giant purple squirrels.)

Their results revealed an unexpected twist. The woolly flying squirrel is actually two distinct species that live thousands of miles apart on the roof of the world: the Tibetan woolly flying squirrel (Eupetaurus tibetensis) and the Yunnan woolly flying squirrel (Eupetaurus nivamons).

“This discovery is so exciting,” says John Koprowski, a squirrel expert at the University of Wyoming who was not involved with the research. “That there were two relatively large animals that had gone unreported shows how little we know about the natural world.”

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/two-new-species-of-cat-size-flying-squirrels-discovered-in-the-himalaya

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how freaking cute are they? 

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5 minutes ago, FfFfFfFF said:

the house cat-size rodent

Omg my cat would sh*t if he saw one of these

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I think it’s so cool that we discover new things about this planet every single day. 

1 hour ago, FfFfFfFF said:

 First named 130 years ago, the house cat-size rodent was believed extinct until its “rediscovery” in the 1990s.  

Flying Squirrels: The Re-Up (Where do you think you’re glidin’?) Himalaya Road Version tease