The Zoochat Photographic Guide to Rodents: part one

Variegated Squirrel Sciurus variegatoides
Sixteen subspecies currently recognised, but this is debatable: adolphei, atrirufus, bangsi, belti, boothiae, dorsalis, goldmani, helveolus, loweryi, managuensis, melania, ometepensis, rigidus, thomasi, underwoodi, variegatoides


As the common and scientific names suggest, this is an extremely variable squirrel, with many of the subspecies looking completely different to one another. The first photo used here by @DesertTortoise shows some of the variation in a line of skin specimens at the University of Kansas Natural History Museum (USA).


https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/variegated-squirrels.667293/


Photo by @Giant Eland in the wild, Costa Rica (subspecies atrirufus)


variegated squirrel (Sciurus variegatoides) @ Montezuma 2014 | ZooChat


Photo by @Giant Eland at Tiergarten Stassfurt, Germany (subspecies dorsalis)


Costa Rica variegated squirrel (Sciurus variegatoides dorsalis) | ZooChat


Photo by @Vision in the wild, Panama (subspecies helveolus)


Variegated squirrel, Sciurus variegatoides helveolus - ZooChat


Photo by @savethelephant in the wild, Costa Rica (subspecies melania)


Variegated Squirrel | ZooChat


Photo by @robreintjes in the wild (in the grounds of the Zoologico Simon Bolivar), Costa Rica (subspecies rigidus)


Variegated squirrel | ZooChat


Photo by @Maguari in the wild, Costa Rica (subspecies thomasi)


Variegated Squirrel in La Fortuna, 19/04/14 | ZooChat

 

Eurasian Red Squirrel Sciurus vulgaris
Complex taxonomy, with up to fifty subspecies having been recognised at various times. The species is extremely variable, even within individual populations, which has resulted in a wide range of opinions on what constitutes different forms. The most extreme lumping situation was a two-subspecies system, with leucourus in the British Isles and vulgaris literally everywhere else. The most common treatment now is for about 17 subspecies

Mammalian Species (in 2005) listed the following subspecies: altaicus, anadyrensis, argenteus, balcanicus, bashkiricus, exalbidus, fuscoater, fusconigricans, infuscatus, italicus, jacutensis, jenissejensis, mantchuricus, [meridionalis], rupestris, vulgaris

Wilson and Reeder (Mammal Species of the World) list the following twenty-three subspecies (which clearly do not match very well with the above list): alpinus, altaicus, anadyrensis, arcticus, balcanicus, chiliensis, cinerea, dulkeiti, exalbidus, fedjushini, formosovi, fuscoater, fusconigricans, leucourus, lilaeus, mantchuricus, martensi, ognevi, orientis, rupestris, ukrainicus, varius, vulgaris

Some former subspecies have been split as full species (e.g. the Japanese Squirrel Sciurus lis and the Calabrian Black Squirrel Sciurus meridionalis).


Photo by @Giant Eland in the wild (in the grounds of Novosibirsk Zoo), Russia (Russian subspecies exalbidus)


Siberian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris exalbidus) | ZooChat


Photo by @Tomek at Zoo am Meer Bremerhaven, Germany (also the Russian subspecies exalbidus - presumably a summer coat versus winter coat?)


Russian Red Tree Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris exalbidus) | ZooChat


Photo by @nikola in the wild, Poland (typical form of the Central European subspecies cinerea [fuscoater])


Sciurus vulgaris | ZooChat


Photo by @Goura at Wildnispark Zurich, Switzerland (dark form of the Central European subspecies cinerea [fuscoater])


Red squirrel | ZooChat


Photo by @Mo Hassan in the wild, Czech Republic (melanistic form of the Central European subspecies cinerea [fuscoater])


European red squirrel - ZooChat


Photo by @Maguari at Zoo Santillana del Mar, Spain (probably the Spanish/Portuguese subspecies alpinus - however, anywhere from one to seven subspecies have been described from the Iberian Peninsula, including alpinus, baeticus, hoffmanni, infuscatus, numantius, segurae, as well as the Central European fuscoater (see here, for example, for a discussion and map: https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/39042185.pdf)


European Red Squirrel at Santillana del Mar, 13/06/15 | ZooChat


Photo by @Maguari in the wild, northern Spain (probably the subspecies alpinus)


European Red Squirrel, Fuente De, Cantabria, 06/07/17 | ZooChat


Photo by @ThylacineAlive in the wild, Madrid, Spain (central Spanish squirrels are usually treated as being the subspecies infuscatus, although in Madrid squirrels have been introduced widely from elsewhere in the range)


Iberian Red Squirrel | ZooChat


Photo by @Maguari in the wild, England (British Isles subspecies leucourus)


European Red Squirrel at Nant y Pandy/The Dingle, Llangefni, Anglesey, 19th February 2023 - ZooChat


Photo by @Tomek at the Axe Valley Bird and Animal Park, UK (Japanese subspecies orientis)


Japanese Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris orientis) | ZooChat


Photo by @Kakapo in the wild, Sweden (melanistic form of the Scandinavian subspecies vulgaris)


Red Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) | ZooChat


Yucatan Squirrel Sciurus yucatanensis
Three subspecies: baliolus, phaeopus, yucatanensis


Photo by @Daniel Sörensen at Tierpark Schonebeck, Germany (subspecies phaeopus)


https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/yucatan-squirrel-sciurus-yucatanensis.677231/


Photo by @toto98 in the wild, Mexico (there is no locality with the photo other than it being the Yucatan Peninsula. By colouration I think it is the nominate subspecies yucatanensis)


squirrel ID? | ZooChat

 

The thirteen (mainly South American) species of Sciurus listed below are not currently represented by photos in the Zoochat galleries.


Allen's Squirrel Sciurus alleni
Monotypic


Collie's Squirrel Sciurus colliaei
Four subspecies: colliaei, nuchalis, sinaloensis, truei


Deppe's Squirrel Sciurus deppei
Note: may be placed in the separated genus Notosciurus.
Five subspecies: deppei, matagalpae, miravallensis, negligens, vivax


Fiery Squirrel Sciurus flammifer
Note: may be placed in one or other of the separated genera, Hadrosciurus or Urosciurus.
Monotypic
Note: may be synonymous with S. igniventris.


Yellow-throated Squirrel Sciurus gilvigularis
Note: may be placed in the separated genus Guerlinguetus.
Two subspecies: gilvigularis, paraensis
Note: reduced to a subspecies of the Guianan Squirrel G. aestuans by Patton et al in Mammals of South America.


Northern Amazon Red Squirrel Sciurus igniventris
Note: may be placed in one or other separated genera, Urosciurus or Hadrosciurus.
Two subspecies: cocalis, igniventris


Calabrian Black Squirrel Sciurus meridionalis
Monotypic


Peters' Squirrel Sciurus oculatus
Three subspecies: oculatus, shawi, tolucae


Andean Squirrel Sciurus pucheranii
Note: may be placed in one or other separated genera, Notosciurus or Guerlinguetus.
Three subspecies: caucensis, medellinensis, pucheranii
Note 1: the Bolivian Squirrel S. ignitus is treated as a subspecies of pucheranii by Patton et al in Mammals of South America.
Note 2: in the 2020 paper by de Abreu-Jr. (linked earlier in the introductory post for the genus Sciurus) this species was placed in the genus Syntheosciurus with the Bangs' Mountain Squirrel S. brochus, which seems unlikely. Given the ubiquitous misidentifications of S. brochus one might suggest that their museum samples were also misidentified.


Junin Red Squirrel Sciurus pyrrhinus
Note: may be placed in the separated genus, Hadrosciurus.
Monotypic


Richmond's Squirrel Sciurus richmondi
Note: may be placed in one or other separated genera, Notosciurus or Guerlinguetus.
Monotypic
Note: quite likely to be synonymous with S. granatensis.


Sanborn's Squirrel Sciurus sanborni
Note: may be placed in the separated genus, Notosciurus.
Monotypic.
Has also been synonymised with the Bolivian Squirrel Sciurus ignitus.


Southern Amazon Red Squirrel Sciurus spadiceus
Note: may be placed in one or other separated genera, Urosciurus or Hadrosciurus.
Three subspecies: spadiceus, steinbachi, tricolor

 

Thanks. The photo doesn't look like a caged one!

A lot of mammal subspecies are very difficult to find boundaries for. I don't know, for example, if alpinus is restricted to the Pyrenees as some sources would suggest or if it is found across the north of Spain as well - and of course all those other subspecies described for the Iberian Peninsula don't help matters.

 

@Giant Eland also posted photos of taxidermy specimens (of both aberti and kaibabensis) just a few hours after you did. I have used your photo for kaibabensis because it shows the tail, and also Giant Eland's photo of aberti.

Abert's Squirrel is a magnificent animal - I'm hoping someone can come up with a photo of a live animal at some point.

 

Thanks - I did miss that completely amongst the Bolivian Squirrel Monkeys!

 

Syntheosciurus
One currently-described species

Taxonomic note 1: in Mammals of South America: volume two by Patton et al (2015) it is noted that an undescribed species of Syntheosciurus is known from a single specimen collected in 1989 in the Rio Abiseo National Park of Peru (the only currently-known species, S. brochus, is endemic to the mountains of Costa Rica and western Panama). An expedition to the park in 2018 (?) succeeded in photographing wild individuals, and also found more museum specimens in the Lima Natural History Museum. DNA results show that it is more closely related to the Amazonian Microsciurus species than to the Central American Syntheosciurus brochus. (See Program from 2019, which is the only information I can find; there does not yet appear to be any scientific paper published).

Taxonomic note 2: in a genetic study of the Sciurinae published in 2020 by de Abreu-Jr. et al (Museomics of tree squirrels: a dense taxon sampling of mitogenomes reveals hidden diversity, phenotypic convergence, and the need of a taxonomic overhaul | BMC Evolutionary Biology) the Red-tailed Squirrel Sciurus granatensis was also placed in this genus, which seems unlikely. Given the ubiquitous misidentifications between S. brochus and S. granatensis in Central America, one might suggest that their genetic samples were misidentified.




Bangs' Mountain Squirrel Syntheosciurus brochus
Treated as being either monotypic, or having two subspecies (brochus and poasensis [originally described as two species])


There are no photos of this species in the Zoochat galleries - all the photos so-labelled (in the Costa Rica Wildlife gallery) are, I believe, misidentified Red-tailed Squirrels Sciurus granatensis.


A photo of an actual Bangs' Mountain Squirrel can be seen here: http://www.tremarctos.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Syntheosciurus-brochus-Greg-Willis.jpg

 

Tamiasciurus
Three species, two of which are represented in the Zoochat galleries.


Douglas' Squirrel Tamiasciurus douglasii
Three subspecies: albolimbatus, douglasii, mollipilosus

Taxonomic note: the subspecies albolimbatus seems not to be recognised by the major mammal works now (e.g. Wilson and Reeder) but the three subspecies as listed above can be distinguished by the colouration of the underparts (off-white, orange, and pale-yellow respectively), so I have retained it here. Otherwise it is included within T. d. mollipilosus. Mearns' Squirrel Tamiasciurus mearnsi has also been treated as a subspecies of T. douglasii.


Photo by @Coelacanth18 in the wild, California (USA) (subspecies albolimbatus [otherwise mollipilosus])


Douglas Squirrel - ZooChat


Photo by @Newzooboy in the wild, Canada (subspecies douglasii)


Douglas Squirrel - Nov 2014 | ZooChat


American Red Squirrel or Pine Squirrel Tamiasciurus hudsonicus
Twenty-four subspecies currently recognised, but certainly in need of taxonomic revision: abieticola, baileyi, dakotensis, dixiensis, fremonti, grahamensis, gymnicus, hudsonicus, kenaiensis, lanuginosus, laurentianus, loquax, lychnuchus, minnesota, mogollonensis, pallescens, petulans, picatus, preblei, regalis, richardsoni, streatori, ungavensis, ventorum

Taxonomic note: the subspecies fremonti may be separable as a distinct species. This is one of the taxa pictured below.


Photo by @Giant Eland in the wild, Colorado (USA) (subspecies fremonti)


American red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) @ Rocky Mountain NP 2011 | ZooChat


Photo by @Giant Eland in the wild, Maine (USA) (subspecies gymnicus)


American red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) in Maine 2009 | ZooChat


Photo by @Vision in the wild, Ontario (Canada) (subspecies loquax [I think])


American red squirrel, Tamiasciurus hudsonicus | ZooChat


Photo by @birdsandbats in the wild, Wisconsin (USA) (subspecies minnesota)


American Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) | ZooChat


Photo by @Pleistohorse in the wild, Alaska (USA) (subspecies preblei)


American Red Squirrel - Alaska | ZooChat


Photo by @Ituri in the wild, Idaho (USA) (subspecies richardsoni)


Richardson’s Red Squirrel | ZooChat


Photo by @Ituri in the wild, Idaho (USA) (subspecies streatori)


Streator’s Red Squirrel | ZooChat


Photo by @Great Argus in the wild, Newfoundland (Canada) (subspecies ungavensis)


Red Squirrel - ZooChat


Mearns' Squirrel Tamiasciurus mearnsi
Monotypic

Taxonomic note: this taxa was originally treated as a subspecies of Tamiasciurus douglasii but was raised to species level based on its isolated distribution. Genetics suggest it may still fall within T. douglasii.

There are no photos of this species in the Zoochat galleries.

 

Yes indeed. If it's a good photo (or at least good enough), then I will use it.

 

Yeah that's good enough. I'll add it in, and if you can get a better photo I'll replace it with that one. (And yes, it should be T. h. minnesota in Appleton).

 

All of them will be interesting to upload, regardless of whether they fit in the thread or not.

The Grey Squirrels in South Africa came from the UK, which are generally thought to be of mixed origins (although probably largely from the main eastern settlements of the USA), so I won't be putting them in the thread because I have photos of pure subspecies available. But they will be interesting to have in the South Africa Wildlife gallery.

 

The following posts will cover the flying squirrels of the Sciurinae Tribe Pteromyini (sometimes called Petauristini). There are about sixty species in fifteen genera (Aeretes, Aeromys, Belomys, Biswamoyopterus, Eoglaucomys, Eupetaurus, Glaucomys, Hylopetes, Iomys, Petaurillus, Petaurista, Petinomys, Pteromys, Pteromyscus, Trogopterus). This is quite a few more than are within Sciurini (38 species in five genera), however flying squirrels are uncommon in zoos and rarely photographed where they are kept due to all species being strictly nocturnal, so there are relatively few photos available in the Zoochat galleries.

Only fourteen species are depicted here, from six genera: Aeretes, Aeromys, Glaucomys, Hylopetes, Petaurista, Pteromys.

 

Aeretes
One species


Groove-toothed or Northern Chinese Flying Squirrel Aeretes melanopterus
Two subspecies: melanopterus, szechuanensis


Photo by @Deer Forest in the wild, China (subspecies melanopterus)


Northern Chinese flying squirrel - ZooChat