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Vol. 45 No. 2, 2006
Differentiation of Subspecies of Asiatic Striped Squirrels (Tamiops swinhoei) (Milne-Edwards) (Rodentia: Sciuridae) in China with Description of a New Subspecies
Song Li1,2, Qing Feng1, Jun-Xing Yang1, and Ying-Xiang Wang1,*
1Kunming Institute of Zoology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 32 Jiaochang Donglu, Kunming, Yunnan 650223, China
2Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, China
Song Li, Qing Feng, Jun-Xing Yang, and Ying-Xiang Wang (2006) Based
on the pelage characteristics and results of multivariate and
univariate analyses, a new subspecies is described in this study, and a
taxonomic revision of Tamiops swinhoei from China is presented. In total, 123 specimens of Tamiops swinhoei
were investigated, 48 of which had intact skulls that were subjected to
multivariate and univariate analyses. Results indicated that 8
subspecies of T. swinhoei can be recognized in China: T. s. swinhoei of southwestern Sichuan; T. s. vestitus
broadly distributes from northeastern Sichuan, southern Gansu,
southeastern Ningxia, southern Shaanxi, northwestern Hubei, southern
Shanxi, northern Henan, and Hebei to Beijing; T. s. spencei distributes in Mt. Gaoligong, northwestern Yunnan (from northeastern Myanmar to the Nujiang); T. s. russeolus restricts to northwestern Yunnan and southeastern Tibet (between the Lancangjiang and Jinshajiang, south to 27°N); T. s. forresti distributes in northern Yunnan (Lijiang, Dali, and Chuxiong areas); T. s. chingpingensis of southwestern Yunnan; T. s. olivaceous of southern Yunnan; and a new subspecies distributes in northern Sichuan (Markam). Tamiops s. clarkei, from western Yunnan (east of the Nujiang) and eastern Yunnan (Mile) is not a subspecies of T. swinhoei, but may be a subspecies of T. maritimus.
Key words: New subspecies, Multivariate analysis, Tamiops swinhoei, Taxonomic revision.
*Correspondence: Tel and Fax: 86-871-5199413. E-mail: wangyx@mail.kiz.ac.cn
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