Gray-bellied squirrel
| Gray-bellied squirrel | ||||||||||||
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Callosciurus caniceps caniceps in Kaeng Krachan County , Thailand |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Callosciurus caniceps | ||||||||||||
| ( Gray , 1842) |
The gray-bellied squirrel ( Callosciurus caniceps ) is a species of squirrel from the genus of the real beautiful squirrel ( Callosciurus ). It occurs in South and Southeast Asia from the south of Yunnan Province , People's Republic of China , through Myanmar and Thailand to the Malay Peninsula .
features
The gray-bellied squirrel reaches a head-torso length of 19 to 39 centimeters and a weight of around 227 to 320 grams. The tail reaches a length of about 15 to 24 centimeters and is therefore about as long as the rest of the body. The rear foot is 49 to 54 millimeters long, the ear reaches a length of 19 to 23 millimeters. The back fur of the animals is gray to dark or olive brown, the peritoneum is silver gray, but can also have red parts. The tail is also gray with a contrasting black tip.
The skull has a total length of 50 to 56 millimeters.
distribution
The gray-bellied squirrel occurs in South and Southeast Asia from the People's Republic of China , via Myanmar and Thailand to the Malay Peninsula and offshore islands such as Langkawi . In China, its distribution is limited to the south of Yunnan Province . In addition, it is assumed that the species also occurs in Laos west of the Mekong , but this has not yet been adequately proven.
The altitude distribution in China extends up to around 2500 meters, but the animals mostly occur at significantly lower altitudes. At Mount Hijau in Perak , Malaysia, the species occurs up to the summit at an altitude of 1433 meters.
Way of life
Habitat and territorial distribution
Like all species of the genus, the gray-bellied squirrel is largely tree-living ( arboricol ), mostly at heights of up to 10 meters and more rarely up to 15 meters. However, it regularly comes to forage on the ground. Like some other squirrels, this species is used to the presence of humans and occurs accordingly in secondary forests , parks, gardens, plantations and cultivated landscapes. In the natural habitat, the species prefers denser forests of two-winged fruit trees ( Dipterocarpus ), which are forest-forming in many areas of Southeast Asia. This is the case, for example, in the Ulu Gombak Forest Reserve in Selangor and in the Krau Wildlife Reserve in Pahang , both in Malaysia and in China.
The area of the animals is relatively small compared to other tree-living squirrels and does not change in size with the seasons. The individual territories overlap with each other with conspecifics of the same as well as of the opposite sex. The areas of the males are on average between 2.4 and 2.6 hectares and that of the females on average 1.2 to 1.5 hectares. In studies in Krau Wildlife Reserve in comparison to was sympatric occurring plantain squirrel ( Callosciurus notatus ) a very low population density of the gray belly squirrel found there the banana croissant came in case counts to 53 individuals, only four individuals of the gray belly croissant.
Diet and Behavior
The food of the gray-bellied squirrel consists mainly of fruits and, more rarely, insects. After a food analysis, 13 different food plants were identified, the proportions being divided into 45% fruit, 21% leaves, 17% bark and 10% flowers as well as other food components.
The animals are diurnal, the main activity is in the Krau Wildlife Reserve between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. and in the morning. The animals emit loud and repetitive alarm calls when they are disturbed. The animals warn of ground- dwelling predators with loud and staccato-like barks, to which conspecifics react by climbing into the trees and keeping quiet. On the other hand, they react to flying predators with a low-frequency bark when the attacker is further away and a rattle when they are completely rigid when they come closer. The animal responds to snakes with a squeak, whereupon conspecifics are motivated to attack and drive away ( hate ) the snake together .
Reproduction
When the females are ready to mate, they will attract several males and mate with them. They attract an average of six to eight males and mate with four to six within a period of about six hours. After mating, the male emits a bell call for a period of 12 to 35 minutes, which corresponds to the warning call of the animals, whereby neither the female nor other males move as if they were threatened.
In the Krau Wildlife Reserve, pregnant females have been caught for most of the year, so there is unlikely to be any fixed mating or breeding times for this species. The animals build round nests (Kobel) from twigs with a side entrance in the higher branches of young trees or bushes. The females give birth to the young in the nests, with a litter consisting of one to five and an average of 2.2 young.
Systematics
The gray-bellied squirrel is classified as an independent species within the genus of the real beautiful squirrel ( Callosciurus ), which consists of 15 species. The first scientific description comes from John Edward Gray from 1842, who probably described an individual from the northern Tanintharyi division ("Bhotan", Tenasserim) in what is now Myanmar as Sciurus caniceps . Numerous species and subspecies have been described in the past that are now considered synonyms . The gray-bellied squirrel was also temporarily listed as a subspecies of the Pallas squirrel ( Callosciurus erythraeus ).
Within the species, six to eight subspecies are distinguished using the nominate form :
- Callosciurus caniceps caniceps : nominate form; Occurrence in Thailand and Malaysia with great color variation.
- Callosciurus caniceps adangensis : Occurrence on several small islands off the coast of Thailand.
- Callosciurus caniceps altinsularis : Occurrence on High Island in the Mergui Archipelago , Myanmar. The shape is significantly lighter than other subspecies.
- Callosciurus caniceps bimaculatus : Occurrence in northern Thailand and Myanmar.
- Callosciurus caniceps casensis : Occurrence on Chance Island off the west coast of Thailand.
- Callosciurus caniceps concolor : Occurrence on the Malay Peninsula and in parts of Thailand.
- Callosciurus caniceps domelicus : Occurrence on the islands of Domel, Bentinck and Kisseraing in the Mergui Archipelago , Myanmar.
- Callosciurus caniceps fallax : Occurrence on Ko Pha-ngan off the east coast of Thailand.
Status, threat and protection
The gray-bellied squirrel is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) as least concern due to its large distribution area, large populations and unknown threat to the population. It is also found in numerous protected areas and is very tolerant of disturbances by people and changes in its habitat. There are no known potential causes of danger for this species.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Robert S. Hoffmann, Andrew T. Smith: Gray-Bellied Squirrel. 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 , pp. 182-183.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l Richard W. Thorington Jr., John L. Koprowski, Michael A. Steele: Squirrels of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2012; Pp. 136-137. ISBN 978-1-4214-0469-1
- ↑ a b c d Callosciurus caniceps in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014.2. Listed by: JW Duckworth, 2008. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
- ↑ a b c d Callosciurus caniceps In: Don E. Wilson , DeeAnn M. Reeder (Ed.): 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 .
- ^ John Edward Gray: Descriptions of some new genera and fifty unrecorded species of Mammalia. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 10, 1842; P. 263. ( full text ).
literature
- Robert S. Hoffmann, Andrew T. Smith: Gray-Bellied Squirrel. 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 , pp. 182-183.
- Richard W. Thorington Jr., John L. Koprowski, Michael A. Steele: Squirrels of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2012; Pp. 136-137. ISBN 978-1-4214-0469-1
Web links
- Callosciurus caniceps inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014.2. Listed by: JW Duckworth, 2008. Retrieved October 15, 2014.