taxonID	type	description	language	source
696C5609FF83FF93B004FE8003A6FE58.taxon	discussion	DISCUSSION Geographic distribution and habitat use. — The dispersion route obtained for G. volans suggests that they invaded México and Central America from the eastern United States, following the Sierra Madre Oriental through the center and south of México to Central America (Ceballos et al. 2010). In México, the subspecies of G. volans are endangered because of their restricted distribution, as they are found only in oak and oak-pine forest along the mountain range (Ceballos and Navarro 1991). We support this conclusion, as our results show that the species has disappeared in several regions as a result of anthropogenic activities, especially deforestation. The natural distribution of G. volans is limited primarily to availability of cavities. There is a relationship between the availability of cavities and the density of squirrels (Sawyer and Rose 1985). This situation could explain the scarcity of flying squirrels in most localities in México, where the deforestation and changes in land use have reduced the surface cover of forests, eliminating trees that can be used as a refuge for this species. Genetic Diversity. — Based on the statistical parsimony network (Fig. 3), it appears that the ancestral haplotype may have originated in southern México (Chiapas). Samples from Chapa de Mota, México, were the most divergent based on the number of mutational steps separating them from other haplotypes. This divergence suggests that this population is more fragmented and has experienced less gene flow than populations from Querétaro, Morelos, and Chiapas. The samples from Floresta (with the exception of TK 78461) grouped together as do the samples from Pinal de Amoles, Querétaro. Examination of intrapopulation variation (Table 4) revealed that the population from Floresta, Chiapas, possessed the least amount of genetic divergence (average genetic divergence, AGD = 0.18 %), whereas the population from Chapa de Mota, México, was the most diverse (AGD = 2.8 %). Interpopulational comparisons showed the Chapa de Mota, México, population to be the most different from the Floresta, Chiapas, population (average genetic distance = 4.1 %). Although this study is limited by small sample sizes and geographic representation, it appears that substantial genetic variation exists among populations in southern México. Levels of genetic divergence approach that between samples in Canada and the central United States (AGD = 5.2 %) and between the United States and México (AGD = 5.4 %). Intrapopulation levels ranged from 0.18 % (Floresta, Chiapas) to 2.8 % (Chapa de Mota, México), indicating either a historical bottleneck in Chiapas or more widespread gene flow across central México. Both hypotheses have their merits, and it is difficult to favor one over the other. First, the Floresta, Chiapas, population is located south of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, long considered to have been isolated from southern México (Ceballos et al. 2010). Second, the high levels of genetic divergence in the Pinal de Amoles, Querétaro, population may have been influenced by gene flow across the Sierra Madre Oriental and Transverse Volcanic Zone. No evidence of isolation by distance was detected. These findings support those of Kerhoulas and Arbogast (2010) who depict a separate evolutionary trajectory for North American and Mesoamerican populations of Glaucomys. Kerhoulas and Arbogast (2010) proposed that populations of Glaucomys from Chiapas, México, are genetically divergent and perhaps isolated from other populations in México, especially those from the Sierra Madre del Sur mountain ranges. Our data suggest that in addition to being divergent from populations in southwestern México, populations from Chiapas are genetically different from populations located in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (Table 4).	en	GERARDO CEBALLOS, PATRICIA MANZANO, FRANCISCA M. MÉNDEZ-HARCLERODE, MICHELLE L. HAYNIE, DAVID H. WALKER, ROBERT D. BRADLEY (2010): GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION, GENETIC DIVERSITY, AND CONSERVATION STATUS OF THE SOUTHERN FLYING SQUIRREL (GLAUCOMYS VOLANS) IN MÉXICO. Occasional Papers of the Museum 299: 1-18, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.15778111
696C5609FF83FF93B004FE8003A6FE58.taxon	conservation	Conservation Status. — Currently, there are four protected zones with flying squirrel populations: the ecological reserve of Huitepec, in San Cristóbal de las Casas; El Sepulcro, southeast to Ocozocuautla, both in the state of Chiapas; the Benito Juárez National Park in Oaxaca; and the ecological state park of Omiltemi, in Chilpancingo, Guerrero. However, these reserves represent only a small portion of the geographic distribution of G. volans. The current presence of flying squirrels has not been confirmed in other reserves such as El Cielo biosphere reserve in Tamaulipas, where large tracks of cloud forests occur and flying squirrels are documented from subfossil remains (Martin 1955). A feasible strategy to maintain viable populations of flying squirrels in México will be to designate protected areas throughout its geographic range. This especially is urgent in Chiapas, where suitable habitat is being destroyed at a rapid rate. Increasing the size of the Huitepec, Chiapas, reserve or other oak forests in the state is fundamental to maintain current populations. Important areas for the conservation of the species, because of the extent of the remaining habitat, are located in central México, in the states of México, Michoacán, and Hidalgo. The selection of new reserves for flying squirrels can be combined with initiatives already established to complement the national protected areas system in México (Ceballos et al. 1998; Chavez and Ceballos 1998; Ceballos 2007).	en	GERARDO CEBALLOS, PATRICIA MANZANO, FRANCISCA M. MÉNDEZ-HARCLERODE, MICHELLE L. HAYNIE, DAVID H. WALKER, ROBERT D. BRADLEY (2010): GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION, GENETIC DIVERSITY, AND CONSERVATION STATUS OF THE SOUTHERN FLYING SQUIRREL (GLAUCOMYS VOLANS) IN MÉXICO. Occasional Papers of the Museum 299: 1-18, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.15778111
