Borneo croissants
| Borneo croissants | ||||||||||||
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Borneo squirrel ( Rheithrosciurus macrotis ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Rheithrosciurus | ||||||||||||
| JE Gray , 1867 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Rheithrosciurus macrotis | ||||||||||||
| (JE Gray, 1857) |
The Borneo squirrel ( Rheithrosciurus macrotis ) is a species of tree squirrel that is endemic to the island of Borneo .
features
The Borneo squirrel is a noticeably large squirrel: its head body length is 40 cm, plus a 30 cm tail. It is colored red-brown on top. On the flank, first a white and underneath a dark brown longitudinal stripe run. The face is gray, the underside whitish. The tail is very bushy. It has a 30% larger volume than the rest of the animal.
Locals report that the Borneo squirrel hunted the larger muntjacs again and again . The croissant let itself fall from low branches onto the deer and bite through its carotid artery. Then the Borneo croissant eats only the stomach contents, heart and liver, but leaves the rest of the carcass. In science, however, this nutritional behavior is excluded because it differs too much from that of all related species.
distribution
The habitat of this animal is the island's tropical rainforest . It is absent in the north and south-east of Borneo and is obviously most common in the center. In the forest, it mostly moves on the ground, although it climbs very well. Its main food is fallen fruit, which it consumes sitting upright.
Systematics
The Borneo squirrel was described by John Edward Gray in 1867 as Sciurus macrotis from the Sarawak region in the Malay part of the island of Borneo . In the same year he described the genus Rheithrosciurus and classified the Borneo squirrel in it. To this day it is the only species of the genus monotypical . Most of the time, the Borneo squirrel is assigned to the tree squirrel , but would be the only real tree squirrel in the Oriental region , which is otherwise dominated by the subfamilies of the beautiful and giant squirrels .
The assignment of the Borneo croissant is somewhat controversial, as its skull shape differs from that of other croissants: It is wider and flatter. There are seven to ten slot-shaped grooves in each of the incisors, which are also unique.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b Erik Stokstad: 'Vampire' squirrel has world's fluffiest tail , June 30, 2014, Science Magazine , accessed July 5, 2014.
- ^ JL Koprowski, EA Goldstein, KR Bennett, C. Pereira Mendes: Morphological Aspects. In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (editors): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6) Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016, ISBN 978-84 -941892-3-4 , p. 656.
- ↑ Janet Fang: Killer Squirrel has World's Bushiest Tail , July 1, 2014, I fucking love Science , accessed July 5, 2014.
- ↑ Daniel Lingenhöhl: The first rare "vampire" squirrel filmed Spectrum of Science from September 4, 2015, accessed on September 5, 2015
- ↑ 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. 755-756.
- ↑ Rheithrosciurus In: Richard W. Thorington Jr., John L. Koprowski, Michael A. Steele: Squirrels of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2012; Pp. 36-37. ISBN 978-1-4214-0469-1
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 .
Web links
- Rheithrosciurus macrotis inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: Duckworth, JW & Meijaard, E., 2008. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
- Erik Stokstad: 'Vampire' Squirrel Caught on Film , in: Science (online edition).