Père David Red Squirrel
| Père David Red Squirrel | ||||||||||||
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Pere david red squirrel ( Sciurotamias davidianus ) |
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| Sciurotamias davidianus | ||||||||||||
| ( Milne-Edwards , 1874) |
The Père David red squirrel ( Sciurotamias davidianus ) is a species of squirrel from the genus of the Chinese red squirrel ( Sciurotamias ). It occurs in large parts of the People's Republic of China . The species is named after the French clergyman and naturalist Jean Pierre Armand David .
features
The Père David red squirrel reaches a head-torso length of about 19.0 to 25.0 centimeters with a weight of about 260 grams. The tail becomes 12.5 to 20.0 centimeters long and is thus slightly shorter than the rest of the body. The hind foot becomes 45 to 59 millimeters long, the ear length is 20 to 28 millimeters. The back color is olive gray, the belly side is yellowish-white or ocher-colored. Compared to Forrest's red squirrel ( Sciurotamias forresti ) it is paler and it does not have a light side stripe, in some individuals a dark stripe runs down the cheek. The soles of the feet are densely hairy.
| 1 | · | 0 | · | 2 | · | 3 | = 22 |
| 1 | · | 0 | · | 1 | · | 3 |
The skull has a total length of 52 to 58 millimeters, it is wide and flat. The type has too a maxillary per half incisor tooth formed incisor (incisor) 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 tympanic cavity is small.
The penis bone is curved, the tip is spoon-shaped.
distribution
The Père David red squirrel is endemic to the People's Republic of China , where it occurs in a comparatively large area. It lives in China's Anhui , Beijing , Chongqing , Gansu , Guizhou , Hebei , Henan , Hubei , Liaoning , Ningxia , Shaanxi , Shanxi , Sichuan , Tianjin, and Yunnan provinces .
Way of life
The Père David Red Squirrel is a ground squirrel that is found mainly in rocky habitats and burrows in crevices between stones. It is very active and capable of climbing trees, but very rarely does. The animals do not hibernate .
The croissants feed mainly on seeds and nuts, which they collect and transport in their cheek pouches. They collect and hide the seeds, often see the large acorns from Quercus liatungensis and walnuts from Juglans regia , and thus actively support their spread. The animals also maintain their collection points, for example by removing the germs from early germinating acorns and thus reducing the loss of the acorns. In this behavior they resemble some Sciurus species in North America, such as the gray squirrel ( Sciurus carolinensis ). In contrast to the Sciurus species, the Père David red squirrel is more dependent on the sense of smell than on the memory to find its collection points.
Regionally, the species reaches a high population density and can also cause damage in agricultural areas.
Systematics
The Père David red squirrel is classified as an independent species within the genus of the Chinese red squirrel ( Sciurotamias ), which consists of two species. The first scientific description comes from Henri Milne Edwards from 1874, who described the species on the basis of individuals from mountains of Beijing in the Hebei province in China. Milne Edwards named the species after the French clergyman and naturalist Jean Pierre Armand David .
Within the species, together with the nominate form, three subspecies are distinguished:
- Sciurotamias d. davidianus : The nominate form is lighter gray on the back than the other subspecies and the belly side is more gray and less sand-colored.
- Sciurotamias d. consobrinus : The fur is stronger and darker in color, the feet are black. There are no spots behind the ear.
- Sciurotamias d. saltitans : The back color is brown.
Status, threat and protection
The Père David Red Squirrel 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 and the frequent occurrence of the species. There are no potential threats to the existence of this species.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c d e f g Robert S. Hoffmann, Andrew T. Smith: Père David's Rock 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 , p. 192.
- ↑ a b c d Richard W. Thorington Jr., John L. Koprowski, Michael A. Steele: Squirrels of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2012; Pp. 198-199. ISBN 978-1-4214-0469-1
- ↑ a b c Sciurotamias davidianus in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014.3. Listed by: Andrew T. Smith, CH Johnston, 2008. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
- ↑ a b Sciurotamias davidianus 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 .
- ↑ Bo Beolens, Michael Grayson, Michael Watkins: The Eponym Dictionary of Mammals. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009; Pp. 315-316; ISBN 978-0-8018-9304-9 .
literature
- Richard W. Thorington Jr., John L. Koprowski, Michael A. Steele: Squirrels of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2012; Pp. 198-199. ISBN 978-1-4214-0469-1
- Robert S. Hoffmann, Andrew T. Smith: Père David's Rock 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 , p. 192.
Web links
- Sciurotamias davidianus inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014.3. Listed by: Andrew T. Smith, CH Johnston, 2008. Retrieved May 16, 2015.