Molecular phylogeny and biogeography of woolly flying squirrel (Rodentia: Sciuridae), inferred from mitochondrial cytochrome b gene sequences.

To investigate the genetic diversity between the populations of woolly flying squirrels (Eupetaurus) from the eastern and western extremes of the Himalayas, partial mitochondrial cytochrome b gene sequences (390-810 bp) that were determined from the museum specimens were analyzed using maximum parsimony (MP) and maximum likelihood (ML) methods. The molecular data reveal that the two specimens that were collected in northwestern Yunnan (China) are members of the genus Eupetaurus. Reconstructed phylogenetic relationships show that the populations of Eupetaurus in the eastern and western extremes of the Himalayas are two distinct species with significant genetic differences (12%) and diverged about 10.8 million years ago. Eupetaurus is significantly different from Petaurista and Pteromys. The level of estimated pairwise-sequence divergence observed between Eupetaurus and Petaurista or Pteromys is greater than that observed between Eupetaurus and Trogopterus, Belomys, Glaucomys, or Hylopetes. Considering the divergence time of the two Eupetaurus groups, the glaciations and the uplift of the Himalayas and Qinghai-Tibet plateau during the Pliocene-Pleistocene period might be the major factors affecting the present distribution of Eupetaurus along the Himalayas.