Description of a new Philippine flying-squirrel

Vol.

XXIV,

pp. 185-186 June 23, 1911

PROCEEDINGS

OF THE

BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

DESCRIPTION OF A NEW PHILIPPINE FLYING- SQUIRREL.

BY

N.

HOLLISTER.

Among ^some mammals submitted

for identification to the

United

States

National Museum _by the

authorities of the Phil- ippine

Bureau

of Science, ^is a flying-squirrel

from Basilan

Island,

which _proves

tobe

new.

Sciuropterus ^crinitus sp. nov.

Type from ^Basilan Island, Philippines. No. 101, Collection _{of Philip-} pineBureau ofScience, c? adult; skin andskull. Collectedby Richard

('.

McGregor and

^A. Celestino, January12, 1907.

Generalcharacters.

— _A

_large

_member

of the subgenus Petinomys; ex- ternally

somewhat

likeSciuropterus (Hylopetes) nigripes^-ofPalawan,^but

sizesmaller;ears verysmall,with three longtufts of hair,onefrom_below, and one from each side; feet grayish-brown ^{instead of} black,

and

tail

brown. Furofback

and

_upperside of parachutelong

and

_{heavy; belly}

thinly haired.

Color oftype.

—

Generalcolorof upperparts pale chestnut, finely

mixed

with black. Nose and _{lips gray;} crown, back,

and

_upper surface of parachute

and

tail pale chestnut, finely lined with black; ^tail blackish near _tip; underfur slate color, the hairs tippedwith the chestnut

and

black. Ear tufts

brown

_{at base,} black at terminalhalf; whiskers long and black.

Limbs and

_margin of parachute ^blackish

and

_buffy; feet grayish-brown. Underparts^ofbody

and

limbs_buffy,theunderfur_gray;

underside oftailpale chestnut, lighteralong

median

line.

Skull

and

teeth.

—

Skull resembling; those^oftheother_larger

members

of the subgenus Petinomys^{;* but} bullae slightly ^less flattened

and

cheek teethwith the small accessory cusps ^at outer exit of thevalley between thetwo

main

transverse _ridgesvery minute.

Compared

^{with a skull of} Sciuropterus (Petinomys) hageni from Sumatra, which ^{is of the}

same

essential_size, ithas anarrower zygomatic breadth, with a slightlywider

*SeeThomas, Annals and Mag.^Nat.Hist., 1908,I,p.6.

33—Proc.Biol. Soc.Wash., Vol.XXIV,1911. (185)

186

Hollistei

— A New

Philippine Flying-Squirrel.

rostrum; interorbital breadth _less; all teeth slightly larger; zygomata lighter;

and

bullae slightly^less flattened (but ^still very broad

and

low

and

not inflated to

anywhere

^near that degree found in species of the other subgenera). Mastoids not inflated. Small premolar robust,

and

other cheek teeth _slightly increasing ^{in size} backward; crowns low;

enamel finely sculptured; ridges low, with transverse _ridges

somewhat

broken, thesupplementarycuspsbetween

them

small, but_plainlyvisible on

pm

^4,

^and

^lesson

m

¹; obsoleteon

m

^2.

Measurementsoftype.

—

Total _length,-570

mm.

;tail, 260; hind _{foot, 42.}

Ear from notch (relaxed on dry skin), 13.5; length ^of ear _tufts, 36.

Skull.—Greatest _length, 53; condylobasal length, 48.6; basal _length, 45.1; zygomatic breadth, 32; least interorbital breadth, 10.1; greatest breadth of nasals, 9.2; mastoid breadth, 22; length ^of maxillary tooth row (alveoli), 11.6; length ^ofmandible from anterior surfaceof

symphy-

sistocondyle,^32.5.

Remarks.

—

Itisinteresting that this second

known

_Philippine flying- squirrel belongs ^to a different subgenus from ^the

Palawan

species, S.

nigripes.

Though

the subgeneric characters ^{in »S'.crinitus} are less pro- nounced than ⁱⁿ

some

otherspecies,thereseems no_questionas toitsplace inPetinomys.