Sighting of Petaurista petaurista (Pallas, 1766) (Mammalia: Rodentia: Sciuridae) on limestone hills in Merapoh, Malaysia

Main Article Content

Priscillia Miard
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1139-962X
Mohd Nur Arifuddin
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1152-4390
Izereen Mukri
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6828-181X
Siti Syuhada Sapno
Hafiz Yazid
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4316-2080
Nadine Ruppert
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9760-0058
Jayaraj Vijaya Kumaran
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4559-8777

Abstract

Flying squirrels are poorly studied nocturnal mammals as their elusive and nocturnal behaviour makes it hard to observe them in the wild.  Here, we describe sightings of Petaurista petaurista on a limestone hill and its foot at Merapoh, Pahang, Malaysia.  This is the first report as the species is usually known to inhabit forest habitat.  We observed the first squirrel resting on a steep limestone wall at night.  During subsequent nights, three individuals were observed feeding on Ficus hispida and Terminalia catappa fruits on the foot of the hill in nearby trees.  These sightings suggest that P. petaurista may use limestone hill habitat. 

Article Details

Section
Short Communications
Author Biography

Jayaraj Vijaya Kumaran, Institute of Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, UMK Jeli Campus, 17600 Jeli, Kelantan, Malaysia.

second affiliation:

Institute of Tropical Biodiversity and Sustainable Development, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Terengganu

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