Gray footed squirrel
| Gray footed squirrel | ||||||||||||
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Gray footed squirrel in Gambia |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Heliosciurus gambianus | ||||||||||||
| ( Ogilby , 1835) |
The Gambian sun squirrel or gray foot squirrel ( Heliosciurus gambianus ) is a squirrel of the genus Heliosciurus that lives in Africa . It belongs to the tribe Protoxerini from the subfamily ground squirrels . Several subspecies are described.
features
The gray - footed squirrel has a head-trunk length of 15.5–21 cm, the tail length is 15.5–31 cm. The total length is thus 31–52 cm. It reaches a weight of 250–340 g. Yellow, brown and gray striped hair give the gray footed squirrel an olive-brown mottled appearance. The throat, chest and stomach are white. The tail is alternately ringed with black and light brown stripes and the eyes are outlined in white.
The subspecies differ almost exclusively in color. In addition, the hair, especially of the back fur, the softer and longer the more arboreal (tree-dwelling) the subspecies is.
distribution and habitat
The gray foot squirrel is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa. The distribution area extends from Senegal and Gambia to the east via West Africa to Cameroon , the south of Chad and the Central African Republic to South Sudan with an isolated population in Jebel Marra , Ethiopia and Eritrea with a southern extension to Uganda and the northwest of Kenya . In its southern distribution area one finds the species in central Angola , in Zambia , in the south of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in the southwest of Tanzania .
The gray foot squirrel usually inhabits the wooded savannah , but is also found in tropical alluvial forests and in the savannah . The species is also found in agricultural landscapes, especially in palm oil plantations . Generally it does not occur in closed forests. Its habitat extends to heights of 2000 m.
Way of life
Gray footed squirrels live mainly on trees, are diurnal and solitary . The diet ranges from fruits and seeds to insects, bird eggs and young birds. Typical behaviors are "sunbathing" on sunny branches and lining the nest every night with freshly picked leaves.
Duration
The gray foot squirrel is not endangered, the species is classified as Least Concern (LC) by the IUCN .
literature
- David Burnie (Ed.): Animals. (The large picture encyclopedia with over 2000 species). Dorling Kindersley, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-831-00956-2 .
Web links
- Heliosciurus gambianus inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2011.2. Posted by: P. Grubb, MRM Ekué, 2008. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
- Alice Park: Heliosciurus gambianus In: University of Michigan Museum of Zoology's Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved February 26, 2012.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Heliosciurus gambianus ( Memento of the original from October 20, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . 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 .
- ↑ Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World. Volume 2. 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD et al. 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9 , p. 1281.
- ↑ a b Alice Park: Heliosciurus gambianus In: Animal Diversity Web of the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. Retrieved February 26, 2012.
- ↑ a b c d Heliosciurus gambianus in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2011.2. Posted by: P. Grubb, MRM Ekué, 2008. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
