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The complex-toothed flying squirrel (''Trogopterus xanthipes'') occurs in the southern Chinese provinces
Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...
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Hunan Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...
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Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...
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Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...
. The common name refers to the teeth, which differ from those of other species of
flying squirrel Flying squirrels (scientifically known as Pteromyini or Petauristini) are a tribe (biology), tribe of 50 species of squirrels in the family (biology), family Squirrel, Sciuridae. Despite their name, they are not in fact capable of full flight i ...
s.


Description

''Trogopterus xanthipes'' looks much like other flying squirrels, but with a characteristic tuft of black hair below the base of the ear. The fur is generally grey-brown, but white beneath. There is a slight reddish tinge to the face and the tail. The overall length is about 60 cm, of which the tail is about half.


Conservation

The conservation status of the complex-toothed flying squirrel is ''near threatened'' because the population is shrinking as a result of habitat loss and excessive hunting for food and
traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medicine, alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. A large share of its claims are pseudoscientific, with the majority of treatments having no robust evidence ...
. The droppings of the flying squirrel are made into a tea used in traditional medicine in parts of China. With the initial purpose of improve living and mating conditions for the fragmented populations of the
giant panda The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear or simply panda, is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its white animal coat, coat with black patches around the eyes, ears, legs and shoulders. ...
, nearly 70 natural reserves have been combined to form the Giant Panda National Park in 2020. With a size of 10,500 square miles the park is roughly three times as large as
Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, with small portions extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U ...
and incorporates the area of the
Wolong National Nature Reserve Wolong National Nature Reserve (from Chinese ), officially known as Wolong Special Administrative Region, is a national protected area located in Wenchuan County in China. Established in 1963 with an initial size of about , the reserve was fur ...
. Flying squirrels are among the various other species who profit from the protection of their habitat and there is hope that their numbers will rise again due to this measure. A large number of the former inhabitants of the protected area have been relocated, however local officials have been known to turn a blind eye on local farmers allowing their cattle to graze within the limits of the park, so in order to ensure effective conservation of nature, of all species populating the area, some rules will have to be enforced with more vigor in the future.


Biology and reproduction

''Trogopterus xanthipes'' builds its nests in cliffs, usually around 30 m above the ground. They live in mountainous terrain in altitudes of 1300 to 1500 m above sea level, or even up to 2750 m according to some sources. Their activity pattern is nocturnal; they leave their nests at night to search for food such as nuts, fruits, and leaves. They become sexually mature at about 22 months. A litter may comprise up to four young, and gestation lasts for roughly 80 to 90 days. Captive specimens have been reported to live for ten to twelve years.


Taxonomy

Though five species of the
genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
''Trogopterus'' have been described, current opinion favours including them all in the same species: ''Trogopterus xanthipes''. The hairy-footed flying squirrel (''Belomys pearsoni'') is closely related, and may be added to the genus ''Trogopterus''.


Medical and commercial interest

The species is collected as a meat animal, and also is captured for collection of the fecal matter, which is valued in traditional Chinese medicine as "five spirits grease" (五靈脂, ''wǔ líng zhī''). It is used in the treatment of
ulcer An ulcer is a discontinuity or break in a bodily membrane that impedes normal function of the affected organ. According to Robbins's pathology, "ulcer is the breach of the continuity of skin, epithelium or mucous membrane caused by sloughin ...
s in the
duodenum The duodenum is the first section of the small intestine in most vertebrates, including mammals, reptiles, and birds. In mammals, it may be the principal site for iron absorption. The duodenum precedes the jejunum and ileum and is the shortest p ...
. Recent research has attempted to establish whether the fecal matter includes components of possible medical interest. Antithrombotic flavonoids have been reported. Various diterpenoids, both known and unknown, have been evaluated for cytotoxicity against human tumor cell lines, and so have various neolignans classed as . Although none of the compounds showed clinically significant activity against important tumor cell lines, some did produce detectable cytotoxic effects, suggesting a source of lignans with cytotoxic activity.


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1397630, from2=Q10828246 Flying squirrels Rodents of China Endemic fauna of China Mammals described in 1867 Taxa named by Alphonse Milne-Edwards Traditional Chinese medicine