Real beautiful squirrels

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Real beautiful squirrels
Prevost squirrel (Callosciurus prevostii)

Prevost squirrel ( Callosciurus prevostii )

Systematics
Superordinate : Euarchontoglires
Order : Rodents (Rodentia)
Subordination : Squirrel relatives (Sciuromorpha)
Family : Squirrel (Sciuridae)
Subfamily : Squirrel (Callosciurinae)
Genre : Real beautiful squirrels
Scientific name
Callosciurus
Gray , 1867

The real squirrels ( Callosciurus ) are a genus of squirrels that is widespread in Southeast Asia and is extremely rich in species and shapes. Several species have colonized even the smallest islands and occur there in different endemic subspecies. In total there are 14 species with up to 300 different subspecies or variants. Some zoologists also consider the Sulawesi giant squirrels , tree chipmunks and Borneo dwarf squirrels , which are treated here as separate genera, to be members of the real fine squirrels.

features

The head-torso length of these squirrels ranges from 15 to 25 centimeters, plus a tail 8 to 25 centimeters. Several species are extremely colorful and are among the most colorful mammal species. The top of the Pallas squirrel is inconspicuously colored olive green, but has a bright red belly. The Prevost croissant is three-colored: black on the top, white on the flanks and red-brown on the underside. The Finlayson croissant comes in three different morphs : One is red-brown, another is solid black and a third is pure white. Species with a back striation do not occur in this genus, some species have side stripes as a border between the back and the belly color. The species of the real fine squirrels have a long tail and no pronounced tufts of hair on the tips of the ears. The females have two to three pairs of teats .

1 · 0 · 2 · 3  =  22
1 · 0 · 1 · 3
Tooth formula of the beautiful squirrel

The skull corresponds to that of the squirrel in its shape and size , but is slightly smaller. The rostrum is short and broad. The postorbital process is strong and curved downwards outwards, and there are other genus-typical characteristics on the skull. All kinds of callosciurinae have a one in the upper jaw per half incisor tooth trained incisors (incisive) to which a tooth gap ( diastema follows). This is followed by two premolars and three molars . In contrast, only one premolar is formed in the lower jaw. In total, the animals have a set of 22 teeth. The penis bone is unusual in comparison to that of other genera, with the tip being separated from the corpus.

distribution

The distribution area of ​​the real fine squirrels is in South and Southeast Asia from the south of the People's Republic of China over parts of India and Myanmar to the islands of Malaysia and Indonesia . Some species and many subspecies are limited to very small areas such as individual islands, others, such as the Pallas squirrel, are spread over large areas.

Outside of the original range, some species were able to establish themselves as neozoa after their introduction by humans . This is especially true of the Pallas squirrel in Japan and parts of Europe and South America. The Finlayson croissant can also be found outside of its original range in Singapore and Italy.

Way of life

Most of the beautiful squirrels live in tropical rainforests , but some species have also become indigenous to parks and gardens in Southeast Asia as cultural followers. They realize the ecological niche of the tree-living squirrels in the forests of South and Southeast Asia, which is occupied in the Holarctic by the representatives of the squirrels .

In the trees they build their nests from plant parts. They live solitary and give birth to one to five young. The food typically consists of nuts, fruits and seeds, as well as insects and bird eggs.

Systematics

A Pallas squirrel eats a peanut

The genus Callosciurus was first described and established by the British zoologist John Edward Gray in 1867 .

The following 14 species are distinguished within the real beautiful squirrels:

Young banana squirrel ( Callosciurus notatus )

The Sumatran lump squirrel ( Callosciurus notatus albescens ) is sometimes viewed as a separate species, but mostly as a subspecies of the banana squirrel.

The Sulawesi giant squirrel ( Rubrisciurus rubriventer ) was initially described as a species of the real beautiful squirrel, but has mostly been placed in its own genus since the 1990s. It lives endemically on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi . With a head body length of 25 centimeters, it is quite large, although actually not that large to deserve the name "giant squirrel".

literature

  • JL Koprowski, EA Goldstein, KR Bennett, C. Pereira Mendes: Genus Callosciurus. In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (Eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6) Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016, ISBN 978- 84-941892-3-4 , pp. 733-737.
  • Callosciurus In: Richard W. Thorington Jr., John L. Koprowski, Michael A. Steele: Squirrels of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2012; P. 134 ff. ISBN 978-1-4214-0469-1
  • 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 .

supporting documents

  1. a b c d e Robert S. Hoffmann, Andrew T. Smith: Genus Callosciurus. In: Andrew T. Smith , Yan Xie: A Guide to the Mammals of China. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ 2008, ISBN 978-0-691-09984-2 , p. 182.
  2. ^ Robert S. Hoffmann, Andrew T. Smith: Subfamily Callosciurinae. In: Andrew T. Smith , Yan Xie: A Guide to the Mammals of China. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ 2008, ISBN 978-0-691-09984-2 , p. 182.
  3. a b J.L. Koprowski, EA Goldstein, KR Bennett, C. Pereira Mendes: Genus Callosciurus. In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (Eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6) Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016, ISBN 978- 84-941892-3-4 , pp. 733-737.
  4. a b Callosciurus In: Richard W. Thorington Jr., John L. Koprowski, Michael A. Steele: Squirrels of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2012; P. 134 ff. ISBN 978-1-4214-0469-1

Web links

Commons : Callosciurus  - collection of images, videos and audio files