Tamiops swinhoer (Milne-Edwards, 1874)

Don E. Wilson, Thomas E. Lacher, Jr & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2016, Sciuridae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 6 Lagomorphs and Rodents I, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 648-837 : 721

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6840226

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6818662

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/064D0660-FFC0-ED3D-FFF0-FE5BFD8DFFD5

treatment provided by

Diego

scientific name

Tamiops swinhoer
status

 

24. View Plate 43: Sciuridae

Swinhoe’s Striped Squirrel

Tamiops swinhoer

French: Ecureuil de Swinhoe / German: Swinhoe-Zwergstreifenhérnchen / Spanish: Ardilla rayada de Swinhoe

Taxonomy. Sciurus macclellandii var. swinhoei Milne-Edwards, 1874 ,

“Moupin [Mup- ing],”

Baoxing, Sichuan, China. Restricted

by G. M. Allen in 1940 to “Hongchantin... about 6000 feet [1829 m].”

Four subspecies are recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

T.s.swinhoeiMilne-Edwards,1874—SChina(SofQinlingRange).

T.s.olivaceusOsgood,1932—NVietnamandNLaos.

T:s.spenceiThomas,1921—N&NEMyanmar.

T. s. vestitus Miller, 1915 — China (N of Qinling Range). Populations in NE India are of uncertain subspecific affiliation.

Descriptive notes. Head-body mean 131 mm (males and females), tail mean 100 mm (males) and 101 mm (females); weight mean 87-9 g. Swinhoe’s Striped Squirrel has variable pelage, but can be distinguished from other species of Tamiops by its larger size and longer and denser fur. It can be distinguished from the Himalayan Striped Squirrel (7. meclellandii) in that the most lateral pale stripe is broader, less brilliant, and usually stops at the shoulder rather than being continuous with the cheek stripe. Nominate subspecies swinhoei has yellow-brown dorsum with a broader mid-dorsal stripe (9-10 mm) and a dull yellow lateral pale stripe that stops at shoulders without connecting to the facial stripe. Venteris buffy white. Subspecies olivaceus has a darker dorsal background color. Subspecies spencei has darker lateral pale stripes. Subspecies vestitus is very similar to swinhoei, but paler and with much paler lateral stripes than the other subspecies.

Habitat. Broadleaved coniferous forests, and scrub jungles of bushes and rhododendrons, just below snowline. Swinhoe’s Striped Squirrel occurs above the elevational range of the Himalayan Striped Squirrel in the south-western portion of its distribution, in areas between elevations of ¢.2134-3048 m.

Food and Feeding. Diet of Swinhoe’s Striped Squirrel consists of fruits, young shoots, other vegetable matter, and insects.

Breeding. Female Swinhoe’s Striped Squirrels have three pairs of teats, one pectoral and two inguinal. Average litter size is 3-2 young.

Activity patterns. Swinhoe’s Striped Squirrel is arboreal and builds nests in tree holes. Its vocalization is described as a high-pitched birdlike sound.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. There is no information available for this species.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Swinhoe’s Striped Squirrel is widespread, very abundant in suitable habitat, and has no major threats.

Bibliography. Allen (1940), Duckworth & Lunde (2008a), Hayssen et al. (1993), Miller (1915), Osgood (1932), Thomas (1921e), Thorington et al. (2012).

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Rodentia

Family

Sciuridae

Genus

Tamiops

Loc

Tamiops swinhoer

Don E. Wilson, Thomas E. Lacher, Jr & Russell A. Mittermeier 2016
2016
Loc

Sciurus macclellandii var. swinhoei

Milne-Edwards 1874
1874
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