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Four Sri Lankan Indian Palm Squirrel Samples Showed Preliminary Maternal-line Genetic Differences

Indian palm squirrel walking along a branch in Sri Lanka
Research: Evolution & taxonomy, Genetics & genomics

A 2026 conference study found preliminary differences in maternal-line genetic relationships among four Indian palm squirrel (Funambulus palmarum) samples from Sri Lanka. The researchers analysed a 600-base-pair fragment of the mitochondrial COI gene from one high-quality field sample collected in each of Matara, Batticaloa, Vavuniya and Nuwara Eliya, corresponding to the historical ranges of four named subspecies, and compared them with an Indian reference sequence from GenBank.

The Matara sample, representing F. p. favonicus in the wet zone, separated first from the remaining sequences in the reconstructed relationship tree. The Batticaloa and Vavuniya samples, corresponding to F. p. kelaarti and F. p. brodiei, formed a strongly supported subclade. The authors suggest the grouping could reflect historical connectivity between the regions or similarities in their environments. The Nuwara Eliya sample of F. p. olympius grouped most closely with the Indian reference sequence, although support for that sister relationship was weaker than for the Batticaloa–Vavuniya grouping.

The four Sri Lankan forms had historically been described from morphology. The authors present the COI tree as the first molecular evidence relevant to reassessing those subspecies concepts, not as a final taxonomic resolution. Because mitochondrial DNA follows the maternal lineage, the COI tree describes maternal-line relationships rather than the full genetic history of the animals. With only one Sri Lankan sequence from each historical subspecies range, the dataset also does not measure genetic variation within those ranges. The result is therefore a starting point for a broader genetic reassessment.

Sources and image credit

  1. Amarasooriya, A. G. R. H., Fernando, T. S. P., Liyanarachchi, N. A., & Weerakoon, D. K. (2026). First genetic insights into the subspecies boundaries of the Indian Palm Squirrel (Funambulus palmarum) in Sri Lanka. In Proceedings of the 9th International Research Conference of Uva Wellassa University, IRCUWU2025 (p. 153). Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka.Primary conference proceeding presented at IRCUWU2025, held 11–12 February 2026. Four 600-bp COI field samples from Matara, Batticaloa, Vavuniya and Nuwara Eliya were compared with an Indian GenBank reference sequence. The authors reported preliminary genetic structuring relevant to four historically recognised Sri Lankan subspecies.

Image: Lahiru Prabudda Fernando — wild Indian palm squirrel photographed walking on a branch in Narammala, Sri Lanka, 28 October 2019; Wikimedia Commons; representative species image; cropped to 16:9 · CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ · Source

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