Sciurotamias davidianus (Milne-Edwards, 1867)
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6840226 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6818930 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/064D0660-FF86-ED7B-FAC3-FBB4F913FB6C |
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treatment provided by |
Diego |
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scientific name |
Sciurotamias davidianus |
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Pere David’s Rock Squirrel
Sciurotamias davidianus View in CoL
French: Tamia de David / German: PaterDavid-Rothornchen / Spanish: Ardilla de Pére David
Taxonomy. Sciurus davidianus Milne-Edwards, 1867 ,
“Mountains of Peking,”
He-
bei Provence, China.
Three subspecies are recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution.
S.d.consobrinusMilne-Edwards,1874—CChina(NWGansu,WSichuan,NEYunnan,andNWGuizhou).
S. d. saltitans Heude, 1898 — SC China (Henan, Anhui, Hubei, Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou, and Guangxi).
Descriptive notes. Head-body mean 212-3 mm (males) and 204 mm (females), tail mean 140-7 mm (males) and 142-9 mm (females); weight mean 260 g. Pere David's Rock Squirrel is paler in coloration than Forrest's Rock Squirrel (S. forresti) and has no stripe along its sides. Pelage is olive gray with a yellowish wash and is darker above and light below. Some individuals also have a dark line across face. Nominate davidianus is lighter gray on dorsum than consobrinus and saltitans, and ventral fur is grayer and less buff brown. Subspecies consobrinus is richer and darker in color, and feet are black. Post-auricular patches may also be absent in consobrinus. Subspecies saltitans has brown dorsum.
Habitat. Rocky habitats. Pere David’s Rock Squirreltypically nests in crevices and underground cavities.
Food and Feeding. Pere David's Rock Squirrel feeds on a variety of seeds and nuts, which it carries in cheek pouches for caching. It is both a scatterhoarder and a larderhoarder of seeds. It influences dispersal and establishment of several tree species;it is a seed predator for wild apricot (Prunus armeniaca, Amygdaloideae) and a disperser for other species, like Liaodong oak (Quercus liaotungensis, Fagaceae) and cultivated walnut (Juglans regia, Juglandaceae). It demonstrates similar ecological and evolutionary interactions with oak trees (Quercus), as do members of the Sciurus genus who feed on oaks in North America. Like the Eastern Gray Squirrel (S. carolinensis), Pere David's Rock Squirrel excises only the embryo on early germinating acorns of white oak species to arrest early germination and thus loss of seed stores.
Breeding. There is no information available for this species.
Activity patterns. Pere David's Rock Squirrel is diurnal and appears active throughout the year.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. There is no information available for this species.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCNRed List. Pere David's Rock Squirrel has a widespread distribution and can occur at high densities in some areas; however, no information is available on current population trends. Although it currently appears to have no major threats, the lack of biological information could make any present or future threats difficult to detect and hinder conservation efforts.
Bibliography. Bertolino (2009), Durden & Musser (1994a), Goodwin (2009), Lu Jigi & Zhang Zhibin (2004, 2008), Smith & Johnston (2008s), Smith & Yan Xie (2008), Tate (1947), Thorington, Miller & Anderson (1998), Wang Wei, Ma Keping & Liu Canran (1999), Wang Wei, Zhang Hongmao & Zhang Zhibin (2007), Xiao Zhishu et al. (2010), Zhang Hongmao & Zhang Zhibin (2007), Zhang Hongmao et al. (2008), Zhang Yongzu et al. (1997), Zhang Zhibin et al. (2005).
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.
