Funisciurus lemniscatus (Le Conte, 1857)
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6840226 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6819079 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/064D0660-FFB1-ED4C-FFCB-FEF4FEA3FE43 |
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treatment provided by |
Diego |
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scientific name |
Funisciurus lemniscatus |
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Ribboned Rope Squirrel
Funisciurus lemniscatus View in CoL
French: Ecureuil rubané / German: Gebandertes Rotschenkelhdrnchen / Spanish: Ardilla listada africana huesuda
Taxonomy. Sciurus lemniscatus Le Conte, 1857 ,
“Western Africa,”
Rio Muni, Equato-
rial Guinea.
Two subspecies are recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution.
E I lemniscatus Le Conte, 1857 — from S
Cameroon to N Gabon (N of Ogooué
River).
E I. mayumbicus Kershaw, 1923 — S Gabon
(S of Ogooué River), SW Republic of the
Congo, extreme SW DR Congo, and NW Angola (Cabinda).
Descriptive notes. Head—body mean 170-7 mm (males) and 167-6 mm (females), tail mean 135-4 mm (males) and 135-8 mm (females); weight mean 140-9 g. The Ribboned Rope Squirrel is small and has four black stripes stretching along back from base of neck to rump. Muted brown band separates two middle stripes; outer stripes are separated from inner stripes by light yellow lines. Dorsal pelage is brown, with hairs banded black and buff; ventral pelage is white or cream, depending on the individual’s geographical location. Nominate lemniscatus has white ventral pelage; mayumbicus has cream ventral pelage. Dorsal surface of long bushy tail is mixed black and buff, and ventral surface is pale yellow color. When atrest,it curls its tail overits back. Feet are narrow and elongated, probably enhancing terrestrial mobility. The Ribboned Rope Squirrel resembles Lady Burton’s Rope Squirrel (F isabella), but the latter can be distinguished by its smaller size, distinct alarm calls, and different striping pattern, in which two middle black stripes of Lady Burton’s Rope Squirrel begin between ears and all four black stripes are separated by pale yellow bands.
Habitat. Lowland evergreen humid rainforests and rarely disturbed vegetation.
Food and Feeding. Ribboned Rope Squirrels forage primarily on the ground, and they are rarely seen in vegetation above 5 m. A highly extendable tongue is used to access narrow spaces for arthropods. This specialized feeding behavior enables them to eat mostly termites and ants. They also feed on a large quantity offruits and seeds.
Breeding. Female Ribboned Rope Squirrels produce an average of 1-7 embryos.
Activity patterns. Ribboned Rope Squirrels are diurnal and scansorial and forage at all hours of the day.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Ribboned Rope Squirrels appear to be relatively asocial, but occasionally up to four individuals will feed in a fruiting tree. Two adult males traversed 1 ha and 1-2 ha at a mean rate of 51 m/h; a female moved over 1-6 ha at a rate of 43 m/hour. Aggression is common and helps maintain structured social hierarchy to defend food and space resources. When observed in the wild, Ribboned Rope Squirrels typically give alarm calls or foraging in pairs or small groups, with individuals spaced 5-20 m apart. Vocalizations convey alarm, with series of repeated chucks indicating moderate alarm, and escalated to high-pitched whines if the threatis serious. Ribboned Rope Squirrels construct a system ofleaf and den nests and use these repeatedly throughout the year. Leaf nests of dried leaves lined with fine plant fiber are c.20 cm in diameter, often with multiple entrances, at heights to 10 m.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Ribboned Rope Squirrel presumably has a large overall population, although no data are available on population trends, and it occurs in protected areas. Habitat loss threatens parts ofits distribution.
Bibliography. Amtmann (1966), Emmons (1975, 1978, 1980, 2013d), Fa & Garcia (2001), Fenner (1994), Thor ington et al. (2012).
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.
