EVIDENCE FOR DIETARY SPECIALIZATION ON PINE NEEDLES BY THE WOOLLY FLYING SQUIRREL (EUPETAURUS CINEREUS)

Abstract

The woolly flying squirrel (Eupetaurus cinereus) is an extremely aberrant sciurid. It is the longest squirrel in the world and the only sciurid with hypsodont dentition. Most of the information on this species comes from a few study skins collected from the western Himalayas over a century ago. The unusual tooth structure of the squirrel led to suppositions about its diet, including the supposition that it ate moss and lichens scraped from rocks. In 1994, 1995, and 1996, we analyzed fecal samples from 4 squirrels. All 4 squirrels ate 92–100% pine needles. These data, coupled with observations of captive and recently released specimens, indicated that woolly flying squirrels feed, mostly or entirely, on pine needles. Such a diet is extremely unusual for a mammal and may explain the squirrel's unusual tooth structure. Destruction of high-elevation pine woodlands in this region is a distinct and immediate threat to the survival of this species.