Hyosciurus ileile, Tate & Archbold, 1936
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6840226 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6818644 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/064D0660-FFC4-ED39-FFC3-F6C5F736F3DA |
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treatment provided by |
Diego |
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scientific name |
Hyosciurus ileile |
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Lowland Long-nosed Squirrel
French: Ecureuil de I'lle-ile / German: Flachland-Ferkelhérnchen / Spanish: Ardilla de hocico largo detierras bajas
Taxonomy. Hyosciurus heinrichi ileile Tate & Archbold, 1936 View in CoL ,
“Ile-ile, north Celebes,
1700 meters” (Sulawesi, Indonesia).
This species is monotypic.
Distribution. N & C Sulawesi.
Descriptive notes. Head-body 213-250 mm, tail 70-125 mm; weight 293-520 g. Dorsum of the Lowland Longnosed Squirrel is dark brown, flecked with buff and black, and venter is dark brownish gray with a highly variable pattern of cream fur patches in mid-venter area. Cream-colored fur can vary from a swath of irregularly outlined white, extending from neck to base of tail, to patches of cream stripes separated by a background brown pelage on chest and inguinal regions. Tail is the same color as dorsum. On the nape of neck, hair coloration is reversed, with a 10 mm median portion. The Lowland Long-nosed Squirrel can be distinguished from the Montane Long-nosed Squirrel (H. heinrichi) by its cream venter, which is white in the Montane Long-nosed Squirrel. The Montane Long-nosed Squirrel also has a stouter body, a brighter and more brownish pelage, shorter reversal fur on nape, shorter ears, muzzle, and claws.
Habitat. [.owland evergreen to lower montane tropical rainforests, at elevations of c.168-1700 m.
Food and Feeding. The Lowland Long-nosed Squirrel forages in leaf litter. Its diet is assumed to be composed offruits and arthropods, with a preference for acorns and figs. Cafeteria experiments with live-trapped individuals showed that it consumed acorns
of Lithocarpus celebicus and L. glutinosus (Fagaceae), with an apparent preference for L. glutinosus. It also consumed large beetle larvae from rotting trunks, but ignored the adult forms of beetle larvae, carabid beetles, lizards, earthworms, and trap bait in the same experiment.
Breeding. There is no specific information available for this species, but female Lowland Long-Nosed Squirrels have three pairs of teats, one abdominal and two inguinal.
Activity patterns. The Lowland Long-nosed Squirrel is diurnal and terrestrial. Vocalizations are very different from those of the Montane Long-nosed Squirrel, and when disturbed,it emits vocalizations described as a growl from deep in the throat, in short bursts of “Errr, errr, grrr” sounds. A second vocalization is documented, usually emitted in the morning and afternoons, consisting in a 3-5 seconds long high-pitched “eee-eee” squeal, a single drawn-out “eee-e” squeal that starts high and drops to silence, or a quick double “eee, eee” squeal. According to G. G. Musser and colleagues in 2010, this squeal sounds like the whine of an unoiled machine.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Lowland Long-nosed Squirrel lives at lower densities than the Montane Long-nosed Squirrel, although Musser hypothesizes that this difference may be caused by the lower density of oak trees (Quercus, Fagaceae) in its primary habitat. More research is needed to understand the effects of resource distribution on the demography of Hyosciurus species.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List. The Lowland Long-nosed Squirrel presents a limited extent of occurrence in northern and northcentral Sulawesi. Its habitat is in continuous decline in extent and quality. Moreover, it occurs at extremely low densities and is extremely susceptible to human disturbance.
Bibliography. Chiozza (2008e), Musser et al. (2010), 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.
