Studies On Fur Characteristics And Heat Preservation Performance Of Flying Squirrel In Winter And Summer In Northern Zhangguangcai Mountains

In order to study the morphological structure and heat preservation of the coat of flying squirrels in winter and summer,and reveal the response mechanism of coat morphology to environmental adaptability?In the winter and summer of 2018?2019,Flying squirrels collected from the forest area of Binxian county in the north of Zhangguangcai mountains.The pin-hair and fluff collected from the head,back,abdomen,buttock,and tail were analyzed,determine the microstructure of medulla and scale based on optical microscope and scanning electron microscope;evaluated the heat preservation of the coat by indicators such as color,density,length,diameter,medulla diameter and medullary index.The results are as follows:1.For pin-hair,seven medulla types from the tip to the root were as follows:discontinu-ous type,ovate type,thin continuous type,wide continuity type,narrow continuous type,single-row trapezoid type and Irregular type.Among them,the narrow continuous type accounted for the largest proportion,and the irregular type was the smallest.For fluff,four medulla types from the tip to the root were as follows:discontinu-ous type,ovate type,single-row trapezoid type and Irregular type.Among them,the single-row trapezoid type accounted for the largest proportion,and the irregular type was the smallest.In the pin-hair and fluff,there was no significant difference in the type and proportion of medulla in the five parts between winter and summer.2.For pin-hair,eight scale types from the tip to the root were as follows:medullary type,irregular-wave type+imbricate type,intergradation type 2,complex valve type,elongate valve type,intergradation type 1,valve type and imbricate type.Among them,the irregular-wave type+imbricate type accounted for the largest proportion,and the imbricate type was the smallest.For fluff,six scale types from the tip to the root were as follows:medullary type,intergradation type 2,elongate valve type,intergradation type 1,valve type and imbricate type.Among them,the elongate valve type accounted for the largest proportion,and the imbricate type was the smallest.In the pin-hair and fluff,there was also no significant difference in the type and proportion of scales in the five parts between winter and summer.3.The surface color of head and back hair in winter is lighter than that in summer,andthere is no difference in the color on the abdomen and buttocks.The color of the lower layer of each part has no difference between winter and summer,which are Gray Pinstripe.The hair density on the back of winter and summer fur was 26322±3579pieces/cm~2 in winter and 21750±1066pieces/cm~2 in summer.The hair density of winter fur was significantly higher than that of summer fur(P<0.05).4.For pin-hair,hair length of all parts in winter and summer was tail>buttock>abdomen>back>head,winter fur was bigger than summer fur,and back and buttock had significant difference(P<0.05).Hair diameter of all parts in winter and summer was Tail>abdomen>buttock>back>head,winter fur was bigger than summer fur,and back had significant difference(P<0.05).Hair medulla diameter of all parts in winter was tail>buttock>abdomen>back>head,that in summer was tail>abdomen>buttock>head>back,winter fur was bigger than summer fur,and back and buttock had extremely significant difference(P<0.01).Hair medullary index of all parts in winter and summer was abdomen>buttocks>back>head>tail,winter fur was bigger than summer fur,Except the abdomen,the difference was extremely significant in other parts(P<0.01).5.For fluff,hair length of all parts in winter and summer was tail>buttock>abdomen>back>head,winter fur was bigger than summer fur,and head had extremely significant difference(P<0.01).Hair diameter of all parts in winter was tail>buttock>abdomen>back>head,that in summer was tail>buttock>abdomen>back>head,winter fur was bigger than summer fur,and tail and abdomen had significant difference(P<0.05),head,back and buttock had extremely significant difference(P<0.01).Hair medulla diameter of all parts in winter and summer was tail>buttock>back>abdomen>head,winter fur was bigger than summer fur,and all the five parts had extremely significantly different(P<0.01).Hair medullary index of all parts in winter was buttocks>abdomen>back>tail>head,that in summer was back>buttocks>tail>abdomen>head,winter fur was bigger than summer fur,and tail had significant difference(P<0.05),head,buttocks and abdomen had extremely significant difference(P<0.01).6.In order to adapt to the different environments of the two seasons,the flying squirrel changed their coat morphology such us length,diameter,medulla diameter and medullary index by changing their coat seasonally.The morphological differences between different body parts are the result of the corresponding differentiation of the coat morphology of flying squirrel due to different functions.