C

Callosciurus- Genus of 15 species of colorful tree squirrels found in Asia.

Chipmunk- A striped squirrel. His body length is 5-7 inches along with a tail of 3-4 inches. He weighs 2-5 oz.
The chipmunk is ready to mate at the age of 4-6 months during the seasons of February-April and June-August. The female gives birth to 1 to as many as 9 offspring 31 days after mating.
The chipmunk is active by day and he nests in burrows. His diet is nuts, seeds, berries, invertebrates, and, occasionally nesting birds, mice, and even snakes.
The lifespan of the chipmunk is 2-3 years in the wild and 5-8 years in captivity.
There are several species of chipmunk widespread throughout eastern US and Canada; and a single species in Siberia. they all bear the genus name Tamias
Winter food stores are nuts and seeds, buried underground during hibernation. The nest burrow can have more than one exit, usually hidden under tree roots or other ground cover. It provides safety from predators like snakes, foxes, bobcats, and birds of prey. A chipmunk usually bites off any sharp edges from nuts or seeds before placing them in his elastic cheek pouches as to not pinch or peirce his cheeks.
Information provided by: www.meerkat.org

Chipmunk

Cynomys- Genus representing the five species of prairie dog found in prairies from North Dakota to central Mexico.

D

Dremomys- Genus of 4 species of ground squirrel found in southeast Asia.


E

Eastern Gray Squirrel- see Gray Squirrel, Eastern.

Epixerus- Genus of 2 species of giant palm squirrels found in western Africa.

Eupetaurus- Genus containing a single species, the woolly flying squirrel, which is found in Kashmir.

Exilisciurus- Genus of six species of pygmy squirrel found in Borneo and Phillipines.

F

Flyger, Vagn- Squirrel expert living in Washington, D. C.

Flying squirrel- Any member of two distinct groups of rodents that are able to make gliding leaps by means of the parachute-like membranes connected on each side to their forelegs and hind legs. The North American and Eurasian flying squirrels form one group, the subfamily Petauristinae of the squirrel family, Sciuridae (order Rodentia). The scaly-tailed flying squirrels are African rodents of an entirely different family, Anomaluridae.
There are about 12 genera and 35 species of flying squirrels in the family Sciuridae. Slender, long-limbed forest dwellers, these squirrels have soft fur and large eyes and are 8 to 60 centimetres (3 to 24 inches) in length, exclusive of the long, often flattened, tail. They live in trees, usually nest in tree holes, and feed on nuts, fruit, other plant material, and insects. They seldom descend to the ground. Unlike other squirrels, they are nocturnal.
The gliding membranes of these squirrels are furry flaps of skin and muscle. Rods of cartilage at the wrists serve to spread the membranes. In "flying," the squirrels leap spread-eagled and use their outstretched gliding membranes for gliding and their bushy tails for guidance. Glides of 60 metres (almost 200 feet) or more have been recorded.
There are two species of gliding sciurids in North America and one that reaches eastern Europe; all others are Asian. North American flying squirrels (Glaucomys) are reddish or grayish brown and are 21 to 37 cm long including the 8- to 18-cm tail. Gregarious animals, they nest at times in birdhouses or buildings. Old World flying squirrels (Pteromys) are long haired, silvery or grayish, and 10 to 20 cm long without the 10- to 15-cm tail. There are two species, P. momonga of Japan and P. volans of Eurasia. Exclusively Asian flying squirrels include the large, brown or black, giant flying squirrels (Petaurista); the long-haired, gray-brown woolly flying squirrel (Eupetaurus, or Hylopetes, cinereus) and the grayish to reddish-brown or black Indo-Malaysian flying squirrels (Hylopetes).
Copyright (c) 1994, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Fox Squirrel- The fox squirrel ranges from North Dakota east to New York and south over the eastern half of the United States and northern Mexico. It occurs throughout Louisiana except for the coastal marsh. It is found isolated on some cheniers and has been introduced to some of the barrier islands (Lowery 1974).
The fox squirrel prefers open forest conditions in hardwood forests or mixed hardwoods and pines. The fox squirrel is a fat and logy animal that is somewhat lazy. It is active around midmorning, noon and midafternoon. It builds dens or nests in tree cavities of constructs them of leaves and twigs. Leaf nests are placed in the crotches of tree branches.
There are two breeding seasons per year, one in late December and early January, and the other in May and June. The gestation period is 45 days. Young are born in February, March, July, or August. They are altricial. They are able to leave the nest after seven or eight weeks.
In the spring squirrels feed on buried nuts, acorns, new tree buds, insects, tubers, bulbs, roots, bird eggs, and seeds of spring fruiting trees. In the summer they feed on berries, fruits, nuts, corn, grains, and insect larvae, pupae, and adults. In the fall they feed on the mast of oaks, beeches, magnolias, gums, dogwoods, hickories, pecans, and other trees.
Predators of squirrels include foxes, bobcats, weasels, and owls but their impact is minimal due to their nocturnal habits. Hawks are the most ruthless predator of the fox squirrel.
It may cause damage to nearby crop fields but is beneficial to forest regeneration by burying acorns which are not all retrieved. The subspecies that occurs in the Florida Parishes is the Bachman's fox squirrel, Sciurus niger bachmani. It is characterized by the white markings on the end of the nose.
Information provided by: http://bullpine.forestry.lsu.edu/
Fox Squirrel


Funambulus- Genus of 5 species of palm squirrel found in India.

Funisciurus- Genus containing 12 species of tree squirrel found throughout central and southern Africa.

G

Glaucomys- Genus name for the two species of flying squirrel found in North America.

Glyphotes- Genus name representing two species of sculptor squirrel found in Borneo.

Gray Squirrel, Arizona- Sciurus arizonensis is a white-bellied tree squirrel without ear tufts or a dark lateral line. It may be distinguished from the somewhat similar rock squirrel.
The head, back, and sides are gray mottled with brown or ochraceous; middle of back with an increased amount of brown or ochraceous (but without a prominent brownish red as in S.aberti); tops of feet gray; tail bordered with white; one upper premolar (Pm4) only; basal portion of rostrum not greatly inflated; top of braincase in interorbital area not greatly vaulted.
In August, females appear to be lactating, and they give birth in mid-June. Analyses of the reproductive tracts indicate that sexual activity extends from January through June. There is no evidence of a second annual litter or a fall litter.
These squirrels run over rocks as dexterously as do rock squirrels, and they do not always take refuge in the nearest trees but flee on the ground. They build conspicuous leaf nests which, in winter at least, more than one adult may simultaneously occupy. Sometimes several squirrels harvest nuts in the same tree simultaneously. When they cut pine cones to feed on, they do not let them drop but carry them back nearer the trunk of the tree where they manipulate them while removing the seeds. These squirrels may sit very quietly when people are around, and they can be passed without being detected.
It is suggested that these squirrels migrate locally. These squirrels ran over rocks as dexterously as do rock squirrels, and they do not always take refuge in the nearest trees but flee on the ground. The Arizona gray squirrel is limited to the deciduous riparian forest of the San Francisco drainage in Catron County.
Info provided by: www.fw.vt.edu

Gray Squirrel, Eastern- A very common animal bearing the scientific name Sciurus carolinensis. His body length is 9-12 inches with a tail 7-10 inches long. He weighs 12-28 oz.
The mating season is at late February or early March and late April or early May. A male squirrel can smell a female who is ready to mate up to a mile away. They start breeding at the age of 11 months and give birth about 44 days after mating. The number of young produced is usually 3, but up to 9.
The gray squirrel can leap more than 20 feet. He is tree-dwelling but spends much of his time on the ground.
Although the gray squirrel likes nuts a lot, he mainly eats tree seeds. His call is a cattering and piercing scream.
The gray squirrel is native to eastern US and Canada and was introduced to Great Britain, Ireland, and South Africa.
Gray squirrels have long, muscular hind legs and short front legs for leaping. To help the squirrel scurry head first up and down tree trunks, the hind legs are double jointed (ouch!) The thick and bushy tail is an important aid to balance in the treetops. The back foot is longer than the front, with five clawedtoes. Four slender toes, each with a sharp claw, on the front foot help a gray squirrel grip bark for climbing trees. The life span is 3 to 5 years, and up to 15 in captivity.
There are other species to bear the name Gray Squirrel, such as the Western Sciurus griseus and the Arizona gray squirrel Sciurus arizonensis.

Eastern Gray Squirrel

Gray Squirrel, Western- (Sciurus griseus) This is one of many tree and ground squirrels found in parks near the west coast of the United States. He is known for his impressive bushy gray tail. During mating season, squirrels become excitable, chasing one another, fighting, and making noise.
© Copyright 1997 Meredith Corporation

Western Gray Squirrel

Ground Squirrel- One of about 100 species of small burrowing rodents belonging to the squirrel family. Genera include Spermophilus and Ammospermophilus in North America; Tamiops, Lariscus, Rheithrosciurus, and Menetes in Asia; and Xerus and Atlantoxerus in Africa. Spermophilus also occurs in Europe and Asia. Sizes, habitats, and diet vary greatly among species of ground squirrel.

Columbian Ground Squirrel

H

Heliosciurus- A genus of three species of sun squirrels found in Africa.

Hylopetes- A genus of 7 species of flying squirrel found in southeast Asia.

Hyosciurus- A genus containing a single species, Celebes long-nosed squirrel, which lives in the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.


I

Iomys- Genus containing a single species, Horsfield's flying squirrel, which inhabits Malaya and Indonesia.

J

K

Kaibab squirrel- The Kaibab squirrel, a rare subspecies of the Abert's squirrel that lives only in the ponderosa pine forests of the North Kaibab Plateau and on nearby Mount Trumbull, has a charcoal gray body, a white tail, and a tuft of fur that stands straight up from the top of each ear. You might be able to spot one of these uncommon animals if you sit quietly in the ponderosa forest and watch for movement in the branches of the trees. Evidence of the Kaibab squirrel includes piles of pinecones that have been chewed down to their cores and mounds of ponderosa twigs whose tender cambium layer below the outer bark is missing, proof that they have provided a squirrel with dinner.
© Copyright 1996 Meredith Corporation

Kinkead, Eugene- Author of the book The Squirrel Book.

Back to the Encyclopedia

Back to my homepage.