Green bush squirrel

Green bush squirrel
Systematics
Subordination :	Squirrel relatives (Sciuromorpha)
Family :	Squirrel (Sciuridae)
Subfamily :	Ground Squirrel (Xerinae)
Tribe :	Protoxerini
Genre :	African bush squirrel ( Paraxerus )
Type :	Green bush squirrel
Scientific name
	Paraxerus poensis
	( A. Smith , 1834)

The green bush squirrel ( Paraxerus poensis ) is a species of squirrel from the genus of the African bush squirrel ( Paraxerus ). It occurs in the central and western parts of Africa in several separate distribution areas. The species is comparatively common in its range and is also found in cocoa plantations , where it is considered a pest.

features

The green bush squirrel reaches an average head-trunk length of 14.8 to 16.1 centimeters, the tail is 15.0 to 16.5 centimeters long. The weight is about 100 to 115 grams. The rear foot length is 30 to 35 millimeters, the ear length 11 to 15 millimeters. It is a comparatively small croissant with a golden-green to olive-green and very dense, soft back fur, which is partially interspersed with dark. The back hair is black at the base and has a long green-yellow tip. There is no hard shoulder. The abdominal color is pale yellow, the peritoneum is also dense and consists of hair with a gray base and a long yellow tip. A dark band of eyes extends over the eyes to the ears, the cheeks are yellow below and above the band. The eyes themselves have a yellow eye ring. The dark gold-green colored legs are short and the feet wide with curved claws. The tail is very long with about 105 percent of the head-torso length, it is slim and not bushy. The tail color is a little darker than that of the back. The females have three pairs of teats (1 + 0 + 1 + 1 = 6).

1	·	0	·	2	·	3	= 22
1	·	0	·	1	·	3	= 22

African bush squirrel tooth formula

The skull has a total length of 37.7 to 39.1 millimeters and a width of 21.4 to 21.7 millimeters. Like all species of the genus has the type in the upper jaw half per one to a incisor tooth formed incisor (incisor) to which a tooth gap ( diastema follows). This is followed by two premolars and three molars . The teeth in the lower jaw correspond to those in the upper jaw, but only with a premolar. In total, the animals have a set of 22 teeth. The row of molars from the first premolar to the third molar is 6.3 to 6.9 millimeters. The bony palate ends at the posterior margin of the last molars.

The green bush squirrel is similar to other African bush squirrels and differs from them mainly in the color of their fur. The Cooper's squirrel ( Paraxerus cooperi ), with which it occurs sympathetically in parts of Cameroon , has a reddish-brown color on the legs. The African miniature squirrel ( Myosciurus pumilio ), with which the distribution in the west of the distribution area overlaps, is significantly smaller and its ears are white inside and out.

distribution

The green bush squirrel occurs in the central and western parts of Africa in several separate distribution areas. The westernmost distribution area extends from Sierra Leone to the Volta Basin in Ghana and includes parts of Liberia , Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire . Another area extends from the southeast of Nigeria via Cameroon , Equatorial Guinea and Gabon to the Republic of the Congo and the extreme southeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo . There are also deposits in the north of the Democratic Republic of the Congo as well as on Bioko and the islands of the island state of São Tomé and Príncipe .

Way of life

The green bush squirrel is found mainly in the tropical rainforest and cloud forest areas of the lowlands. It lives in bushes as well as in secondary and primary forests as well as in the area of settlements and in agricultural areas and plantations .

The animals are diurnal and, like other bush squirrels, live by trees, mostly above five meters in height. Like other species in the genus, they are omnivorous and they mainly look for food in the trees, where they move quickly along the branches and trunks. The food consists of fruits, seeds and other plant parts as well as insects and other animal food such as bird eggs (only observed in captivity). In Gabon, up to 88 percent of the stomach content of the animals consisted of fruits and seeds and about 11 percent of insects and other small animals. They find insects by searching tree trunks, branches and parts of bark intensively. They live solitary or in pairs, although they are likely to be monogamous and live in a nest together. They show numerous common comfort behaviors such as grooming or lying together. They create their nests as open leaf nests in tree hollows and use not only leaves but also plant fibers.

The females give birth to one or two young animals in one litter, which are protected by both parents. The females show no aggression towards the male. Communication among the conspecifics takes place through various calls, above all a typical short, one-second alarm call made up of 25 individual impulses that cannot be distinguished by the human ear. This is accompanied by visual signals such as rigidity and a lifting of the tail in a curve over the body. Then it repeats the call several times and jerks its tail downwards and jumps on the hide while it stamps its feet on the branch. This series of alarm signals can be repeated up to 100 times. No information is available on the predators and parasites of the species; the predators are probably mainly birds of prey, snakes and predators such as crawling cats .

Systematics

The green bush squirrel is classified as an independent species within the genus of the African bush squirrel ( Paraxerus ), which consists of eleven species. The first scientific description comes from the zoologist Andrew Smith from 1834, who described the species as Sciurus poensis on the basis of individuals from the island of Bioko in the Gulf of Guinea . Due to different tooth and skull features, the species was partially assigned to the redshank squirrels ( Funisciurus ) and also the sun squirrels ( Heliosciurus ) or placed in a separate genus Aethosciurus .

Apart from the nominate form, no further subspecies are distinguished within the species .

Status, threat and protection

The green bush squirrel is considered to be the most widespread and most abundant bush squirrel species in West Africa. It is classified as least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). This is justified by the large distribution area of the species, which also occurs in several protected areas, the assumed large populations and their good adaptability to habitat changes. There are no known risks that could endanger the existence of the plant; in cocoa plantations it is sometimes viewed as a pest.

supporting documents

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o Louise H. Emmons: Paraxerus poensis, Green Bush Squirrel. In: Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Michael Hoffmann, Thomas Butynski, Meredith Happold and Jan Kalina (eds.): Mammals of Africa Volume III. Rodents, Hares and Rabbits. Bloomsbury, London 2013, pp. 85-87; ISBN 978-1-4081-2253-2 .

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Richard W. Thorington Jr. , John L. Koprowski, Michael A. Steele: Squirrels of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2012; Pp. 244-245. ISBN 978-1-4214-0469-1

↑ Peter Grubb: Genus Paraxerus, Bush Squirrels. In: Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Michael Hoffmann, Thomas Butynski, Meredith Happold and Jan Kalina (eds.): Mammals of Africa Volume III. Rodents, Hares and Rabbits. Bloomsbury, London 2013, pp. 72-74; ISBN 978-1-4081-2253-2 .

↑ ^a ^b Paraxerus poensis in the IUCN 2016-2 Red List of Threatened Species . Posted by: P. Grubb, MRM Ekué, 2008. Retrieved September 8, 2016.

↑ ^a ^b ^c Paraxerus poensis . In: Don E. Wilson , DeeAnn M. Reeder (Eds.): Mammal Species of the World. A taxonomic and geographic Reference. 2 volumes. 3. Edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 .

literature

Richard W. Thorington Jr. , John L. Koprowski, Michael A. Steele: Squirrels of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2012; Pp. 244-245. ISBN 978-1-4214-0469-1
Louise H. Emmons: Paraxerus poensis, Green Bush Squirrel. In: Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Michael Hoffmann, Thomas Butynski, Meredith Happold and Jan Kalina (eds.): Mammals of Africa Volume III. Rodents, Hares and Rabbits. Bloomsbury, London 2013, pp. 85-87; ISBN 978-1-4081-2253-2 .

Web links

Paraxerus poensis inthe IUCN 2016-2 Red List of Threatened Species . Posted by: P. Grubb, MRM Ekué, 2008. Retrieved September 8, 2016.

[Kingdon_2013-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o Louise H. Emmons: Paraxerus poensis, Green Bush Squirrel. In: Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Michael Hoffmann, Thomas Butynski, Meredith Happold and Jan Kalina (eds.): Mammals of Africa Volume III. Rodents, Hares and Rabbits. Bloomsbury, London 2013, pp. 85-87; ISBN 978-1-4081-2253-2 .

[Thorington_et_al._2012-2] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Richard W. Thorington Jr. , John L. Koprowski, Michael A. Steele: Squirrels of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2012; Pp. 244-245. ISBN 978-1-4214-0469-1

[Grubb_2013-3] Peter Grubb: Genus Paraxerus, Bush Squirrels. In: Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Michael Hoffmann, Thomas Butynski, Meredith Happold and Jan Kalina (eds.): Mammals of Africa Volume III. Rodents, Hares and Rabbits. Bloomsbury, London 2013, pp. 72-74; ISBN 978-1-4081-2253-2 .