Gliding performance of the red giant gliding squirrel <i>Petaurista petaurista</i> in the tropical rainforest of Indian eastern Himalaya

Krishna, Murali C.; Kumar, Awadhesh; Tripathi, Om Prakash

doi:10.2981/wlb.00120

Cited by 13 publications

(11 citation statements)

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“…; Krishna t al. ). Additionally, Polyakova & Sokolov () as well as Thorington & Heaney () demonstrated that the largest bone length adjustments are to be found in the forelimb of gliding sciuromorphs in order to increase the area of the patagium.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Femoral morphology of sciuromorph rodents in light of scaling and locomotor ecology

et al. 2019

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Sciuromorph rodents are a monophyletic group comprising about 300 species with a body mass range spanning three orders of magnitude and various locomotor behaviors that we categorized into arboreal, fossorial and aerial. The purpose of this study was to investigate how the interplay of locomotor ecology and body mass affects the morphology of the sciuromorph locomotor apparatus. The most proximal skeletal element of the hind limb, i.e. the femur, was selected, because it was shown to reflect a functional signal in various mammalian taxa. We analyzed univariate traits (effective femoral length, various robustness variables and the in‐levers of the muscles attaching to the greater, third and lesser trochanters) as well as femoral shape, representing a multivariate trait. An ordinary least‐squares regression including 177 species was used to test for a significant interaction effect between body mass and locomotor ecology on the variables. Specifically, it tested whether the scaling patterns of the fossorial and aerial groups differ when compared with the arboreal, because the latter was identified as the ancestral sciuromorph condition via stochastic character mapping. We expected aerial species to display the highest trait values for a given body mass as well as the steepest slopes, followed by the arboreal and fossorial species along this order. An Ornstein–Uhlenbeck regression fitted to a phylogenetically pruned dataset of 140 species revealed the phylogenetic inertia to be very low in the univariate traits, hence justifying the utilization of standard regressions. These variables generally scaled close to isometry, suggesting that scaling adjustments might not have played a major role for most of the femoral features. Nevertheless, the low phylogenetic inertia indicates that the observed scaling patterns needed to be maintained during sciuromorph evolution. Significant interaction effects were discovered in the femoral length, the centroid size of the condyles, and the in‐levers of the greater and third trochanters. Additionally, adjustments in various femoral traits reflect the acquisitions of fossorial and aerial behaviors from arboreal ancestors. Using sciuromorphs as a focal clade, our findings exemplify the importance of statistically accounting for potential interaction effects of different environmental factors in studies relating morphology to ecology.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Femoral morphology of sciuromorph rodents in light of scaling and locomotor ecology

et al. 2019

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“…These, and other species, seldom display maximum glide ratios (Ando & Shiraishi 1993, Krishna et al 2016. Tree thickness also influences landing tree choice in giant flying squirrels (Krishna et al 2016). Overall, these findings strongly imply that forest structure influences the gliding locomotion of gliding mammals.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…For example, glide ratios range from 0.6 to 3.5 in Japanese giant flying squirrels (Ando & Shiraishi 1993) and 1.1 to 2.5 in the mahogany glider (Petaurus gracilis) and the sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps -Jackson 1999). These, and other species, seldom display maximum glide ratios (Ando & Shiraishi 1993, Krishna et al 2016. Tree thickness also influences landing tree choice in giant flying squirrels (Krishna et al 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Gliding distance is determined by vertical drop. Although the cost of gliding decreases with increasing glide distance per vertical drop (glide ratio), gliding mammals frequently use costly low-ratio glides and seldom use more cost-effective glide ratios (Ando & Shiraishi 1993, Krishna et al 2016). However, the reason why gliding mammals frequently perform inefficient glides remains unclear.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Gliding patterns of Siberian flying squirrels in relation to forest structure

Suzuki¹,

Yanagawa²

2019

iForest

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It is widely accepted that the evolution of gliding ability is correlated with forest environments, but differences in gliding locomotion in relation to forest structure remains poorly elucidated in mammals. Although the cost of gliding locomotion decreases with increasing glide distance per unit vertical drop (glide ratio), gliding mammals often use costly low-ratio glides and seldom exploit maximum-ratio glides. In this study, we evaluated our hypothesis that low-ratio glides are related to forest structure by measuring glide distance, vertical drops and landing tree heights in Siberian flying squirrels (Pteromys volans), and we also recorded their behaviour in landing trees. Glide ratio decreased with increasing landing tree height. Squirrels landed on taller trees using low-ratio glides and tended to depart from them quickly without spending much time there, but used high-ratio glides to land on shorter trees for foraging or nesting. Thus, flying squirrels use two different gliding behaviours depending on their immediate objective, where inefficient low-ratio glides are used to move to higher trees for continued gliding. This approach might be necessary for efficiency and safety in subsequent glides, because taller trees facilitate long-distance glides and significantly decrease energy costs and landing impact. Therefore, the location of tall trees in forests and/or average canopy height might alter glide path routes. This study provides important evidence that forest structure affects gliding patterns and provides insight on how forest management could influence the gliding locomotion of Siberian flying squirrels.

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“…These gliding mammals are commonly equipped with elongated forelimbs, patagia (gliding membranes), and cutaneus muscles extending into the patagia, but they vary in their components, proportion, and extent (Stark, ; Thewissen and Babcock, ; Oshida, ). In addition, each gliding mammal exhibits a different gliding angle, attitude, technique, and distance (Thorington et al, ; Jackson, ; Vernes, ; Jackson and Thorington, ; Krishna et al, ). Therefore, it has been proposed that each specialized muscle with its additional supporting structures may have a different developmental origin (Oshida, ) and may have evolved many times as a result of selection for aerial locomotion (Thewissen and Babcock, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolutionary Transformation of the Palmaris Longus Muscle in Flying Squirrels (Pteromyini: Sciuridae): An Anatomical Consideration of the Origin of the Uniquely Specialized Styliform Cartilage

Kawashima

Thorington

Bohaska

et al. 2016

The Anatomical Record

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A long-standing issue in squirrel evolution and development is the origin of the styliform cartilage of flying squirrels, which extends laterally from the carpus to support the gliding membrane (patagium). Because the styliform cartilage is one of the uniquely specialized structures permitting gliding locomotion, the knowledge of its origin and surrounding transformation is key for understanding their aerodynamic evolution. The developmental study that would definitely answer this question would be difficult due to the rarity of embryological material. Instead, anatomical examinations have suggested two major hypotheses on the homology of the styliform cartilage: the pisiform bone of other mammals, or an additional carpal structure, such as the ulnar sesamoid of some of the other mammals or the hypothenar cartilage of the non-gliding squirrels. To test these hypotheses, a detailed examination of the anatomy of the carpus of gliding and non-gliding squirrels, and the colugo were undertaken. Based on physical and virtual dissections of the carpus, this study showed that both the pisiform bone and styliform cartilage were present in flying squirrels. This finding is further supported by demonstration that a "true Palmaris longus," with innervation typical for this muscle, inserts on the styliform cartilage. Taken together, our osteological, muscular, and neurological results suggest that the styliform cartilage was transformed in flying squirrels from an initially superficial and ulnar-derived anlagen into its current form. Anat Rec, 300:340-352, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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Gliding performance of the red giant gliding squirrel Petaurista petaurista in the tropical rainforest of Indian eastern Himalaya

Abstract: BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.

Cited by 13 publications

References 31 publications

Femoral morphology of sciuromorph rodents in light of scaling and locomotor ecology

Femoral morphology of sciuromorph rodents in light of scaling and locomotor ecology

Gliding patterns of Siberian flying squirrels in relation to forest structure

Evolutionary Transformation of the Palmaris Longus Muscle in Flying Squirrels (Pteromyini: Sciuridae): An Anatomical Consideration of the Origin of the Uniquely Specialized Styliform Cartilage

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