African bush squirrel
| African bush squirrel | ||||||||||||
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| Forsyth Major , 1893 |
The African bush squirrels ( Paraxerus ) are a genus of African squirrels that live in tree savannahs and dry forests. They are mainly diurnal and tied to trees, but are absent in the tropical rainforests that are inhabited by other species of squirrels. Their nests are high in the trees, but they often come to the ground to forage. As with most croissants, the main food is seeds, nuts and fruits, as well as insects and bird eggs; some species also dig roots out of the ground.
features
The length of the head body is 10 to 30 cm, depending on the species, plus 12 to 25 cm of tail. The coloring is very different in the species. The Boehm croissant resembles a chipmunk with its longitudinal stripes . The black and red bush squirrel is bright reddish brown in color and has a black spot in the middle of its back.
Way of life
Unlike most tree-dwelling squirrels, bush squirrels are sociable animals. The groups usually consist of an adult couple and their young. Occasionally, however, several families get together. The members of the group warn each other by shrill whistles when predators are approaching. The number of young in a litter is one to three.
Systematics
There are eleven types:
- Alexander squirrel , Paraxerus alexandri ( Thomas & Wroughton , 1907 ), DR Congo , Uganda
- Boehm's bush squirrel , Paraxerus boehmi ( Reichenow , 1886 ), East and Central Africa
- Smith's bush squirrel , Paraxerus cepapi ( Smith , 1836 ), Southeast Africa
- Cooper's squirrel , Paraxerus cooperi Hayman , 1950 , Cameroon
- Striped bush squirrel , Paraxerus flavovittis ( Peters , 1852 ), Kenya , Tanzania , Mozambique
- Black and red bush squirrel , Paraxerus lucifer ( Thomas , 1897 ), Tanzania, Zambia , Malawi
- Ocher or ocher colored bush squirrel , Paraxerus ochraceus ( Huet , 1880 ), Sudan , Kenya, Tanzania
- Red-bellied bush squirrel , Paraxerus palliatus ( Peters , 1852 ), East Africa
- Green bush squirrel , Paraxerus poensis ( Smith , 1830 ), West and Central Africa
- Lushoto, Svynnerton or Usambara bush squirrels , Paraxerus vexillarius ( Kershaw, 1923 ), Tanzania
- Vincent squirrel , Paraxerus vincenti Hayman , 1950 , Mozambique
In some other concepts, the genus Paraxerus is divided into several genera; this created the genera Aethosciurus , Tamiscus and Montisciurus . Forsyth Major considered the bush squirrels to be a subgenus of the African bristle squirrels , to which they are not related according to current knowledge.
Threat and protection
Most of the species are common rodents of African savannahs and bush lands. However, two species are listed as endangered species by the IUCN . The Vincent squirrel is threatened even in its status. This croissant is only known from the slopes of a single mountain, Monte Namuli in the north of Mozambique. This area is not protected, so that the Vincent squirrel is acutely threatened with extinction in its tiny distribution area. The Svynnerton croissant has a somewhat larger, but also comparatively small distribution area in some of the mountain ranges of central Tanzania. Since it relies on the dwindling primary forest as a habitat, it is listed as endangered.
literature
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World. 2 volumes. 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD et al. 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9 .
- Peter Grubb: Genus Paraxerus, Bush Squirrels. In: Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Michael Hoffmann, Thomas Butynski, Meredith Happold, Jan Kalina (eds.): Mammals of Africa. Volume 3: Rodents, Hares and Rabbits. Bloomsbury, London 2013, ISBN 978-1-4081-2253-2 , p. 72 ff.
- Richard W. Thorington Jr. , John L. Koprowski, Michael A. Steele: Squirrels of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2012, ISBN 978-1-4214-0469-1 , pp. 233 ff.
