Funisciurus anerythrus (Thomas, 1890)
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6840226 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6840706 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/064D0660-FFB7-ED4A-FFC3-F640F8EAF17E |
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treatment provided by |
Diego |
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scientific name |
Funisciurus anerythrus |
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Thomas's Rope Squirrel
Funisciurus anerythrus View in CoL
Other common names: Redless Tree Squirrel
French: Ecureuil de Thomas / German: Thomas-Rotschenkelhdrnchen / Spanish: Ardilla listada africana de Thomas
Taxonomy. Sciurus pyrrhopus [sic] anerythrus Thomas, 1890 ,
“Buguera, S of Lake
Albert, Uganda.”
Four subspecies are recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution.
FE a. anerythrus Thomas, 1890 — W Uganda
S through the DR Congo to NW Angola (Cabinda).
FE a. bandarum Thomas, 1915 — Central Af-
rican Republic into extreme S Chad.
FE a. mystax de Winton, 1898 — S Cameroon to Gabon and NW Republic of the Congo.
FE a. raptorum Thomas, 1903 — S Benin and SW Nigeria.
Descriptive notes. Head-body mean 176-7 mm (males) and 172 mm (females), tail mean 166-3 mm (males) and 167-5 mm (females); weight mean 217-8 g. Thomas's Rope Squirrel is medium-sized and has brown dorsum, suffused by beige. Eye rings are buff, and longitudinal buff stripes extend from shoulder to hip. Venter ranges from white to gray to orangish. Underside of short tail is primarily red and is banded black to white toward tip when viewed from below, but it appears dark with white tip when viewed from
above. Thomas’s Rope Squirrel reflects its tail vertically against its back when at rest and holdsit vertically, but with the tip curling backward, when moving. Snoutis pronounced, likely to assist in accessing ants and termites. Dorsal pelage is reddish brown, and venter varies from yellow to red. Subspecies bandarum has brown dorsum, tinged with beige hairs, and underbelly is light gray to orange. Subspecies mystax has orange venter. Subspecies raptorum has whitish belly. Chromosomal complement is 2n = 38 and FN = 62.
Habitat. Near permanent or seasonal water including raffia (Raphia, Arecaceae) palm swamps, gallery forests, and riparian forests.
Food and Feeding. Thomas's Rope Squirrel is primarily herbivorous consuming fruits, seeds, and green vegetation (80% ofthe diet), but it eats considerable amounts of arthropods (20%) and mushrooms and green plants (3%). Orange pericarps of raffia palms are cached in aboveground crevices.
Breeding. Thomas's Rope Squirrel builds a leaf nest ¢.20-24 cm in diameter and lined with fibers or palm leaflets. Litter sizes average 1-2-1-5 young. Young are raised in partially exposed nests situated among vegetation of tree branches or the rachises of palm leaves that overhang water.
Activity patterns. Thomas's Rope Squirrel is diurnal and spends much of the day foraging on the ground and in the low canopy.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Thomas's Rope Squirrel lives in dense populations that reflect high levels of sociality. Evidence suggests that pairs form monogamous bonds because individuals moved in pairs 28% of the time, grooming each other, and laid on one another. Groups of up to six individuals have been reported foraging together. Vocalizations are frequent and distinctive. Tooth chatter-like chucks are emitted in early stages of distress, while the individual rhythmically moves its tail vertically and stampsits feet. High-intensity alarm call is unique and consists of 2—4 periodic pulses, followed by 1-2 long low-frequency whistles, with only final whistles audible from a distance.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Thomas's Rope Squirrel is widespread and presumably has large populations, although no data are available on population trends. It occurs in protected areas and is tolerant of some habitat modification. There are no known range-wide major threats, and it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category.
Bibliography. Emmons (1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 2013b), Jezek & Fenner (1988), Linnaeus (1758), Rahm (1970b), Rosevear (1969), Thorington 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.
