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12 June 2018 A new species of squirrel (Sciuridae: Callosciurus) from an isolated island off the Indochina Peninsula in southern Vietnam
Son Truong Nguyen, Tatsuo Oshida, Phuong Huy Dang, Hai Tuan Bui, Masaharu Motokawa
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Abstract

We describe a new species of squirrel (Sciuridae, Callosciurus) from Hon Khoai Island, located off the coast of southern Vietnam (centered at ca. 8°26′08″N, 104°49′58″E) and discuss its phylogenetic position in the genus Callosciurus. Compared to other Callosciurus occurring on the Indochina Peninsula, the new species (Callosciurus honkhoaiensis) is strikingly small, especially head and body length, body mass, and hind foot length. Unlike other species of Callosciurus, the hairs at the tip of the tail are white with a black base, and the venter and feet are whitish cream. The new species at present is known only from the type locality, Hon Khoai Island. Phylogenetically, the new species is closely related to C. caniceps, suggesting that it evolved from C. caniceps or an ancestor in common with C. caniceps, possibly during the Pliocene. Genetic distances between the 2 species calculated from comparison of mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences are 10.1–10.3%. During both glaciations and interglaciations of the Pleistocene, the new species may have been isolated from other Callosciurus populations by rivers and sea, respectively.

© 2018 American Society of Mammalogists, www.mammalogy.org
Son Truong Nguyen, Tatsuo Oshida, Phuong Huy Dang, Hai Tuan Bui, and Masaharu Motokawa "A new species of squirrel (Sciuridae: Callosciurus) from an isolated island off the Indochina Peninsula in southern Vietnam," Journal of Mammalogy 99(4), 813-825, (12 June 2018). https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyy061
Received: 9 November 2017; Accepted: 22 May 2018; Published: 12 June 2018
KEYWORDS
geographic isolation
island endemic species
Sciuridae
Southeast Asia
Sunda Shelf
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