Nannosciurus melanotis (Muller, 1840)

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 : 723-724

publication ID

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

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6818668

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/064D0660-FFC2-ED20-FAF5-F679FD45F4FF

treatment provided by

Diego

scientific name

Nannosciurus melanotis
status

 

33. View Plate 43: Sciuridae

Black-eared Squirrel

Nannosciurus melanotis View in CoL

French: Ecureuil a oreilles noires / German: SchwarzohrZwerghdrnchen / Spanish: Ardilla de orejas negras

Taxonomy. Sciurus melanotis S. Muller, 1840 ,

“Borneo.”

Restricted by M. W. Lyon

in 1906 and by L. R. Heaney in 1985 toJava. Four subspecies are recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

N.m.melanotisS.Miller,1840—WJava.

N.m.bancanusLyon,1906—BangkaI,Indonesia.

N.m.borneanusLyon,1906—Borneo,andLautI(offSEBorneo).

N. m. pulcher Miller, 1902 — Sumatra and

Singkep I (Lingga Archipelago), Indonesia. The population on Belitung I is of uncertain subspecific affinity but is likely to be bancanus.

Descriptive notes. Head—body mean 79-6 mm (males) and 79 mm (females), tail mean 62 mm (males) and 70-5 mm (females); weight mean 17 g. Dorsum of the Black-eared Squirrel is plain pale agouti, with a black stripe from nose to eye; a broad bufly stripejust below black stripe extends to a buffy patch behind eye, and a second thin black stripe below buffy stripe extends to mouth. These stripes differentiate the Black-eared Squirrel from species of Exilisciurus. Back of ear and patch of fur just behind it are black. Subspecies melanotis has darker pelage than the other subspecies, dorsum is orange-brown and venteris pale orange-brown. Nape of neck is lighter brown than crown. Subspecies bancanus has yellow brown pelage, a distinct nape patch, and a buffy facial stripe. Subspecies borneanus has yellow brown pelage; a nape patch is present, although darker and less distinctive than pulcher. Facial stripe is whitish and slightly tinged with buffy. Subspecies pulcheris very similar to bancanus, although bancanus has darker pelage. Pelage is yellow brown with a distinct nape patch and whitish facialstripe.

Habitat. Lowland dipterocarp forests, up to elevations of ¢.1070 m.

Food and Feeding. The Black-eared Squirrel is a bark gleaner.

Breeding. There is no information available for this species.

Activity patterns. The Black-eared Squirrel is mostly seen on tree trunks and major branches due to its foraging behavior.

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. The Blackeared Squirrel is widespread and abundant in suitable habitat. Although it prefers primary forest, it is also known to occur in secondary and selectively logged forest. It is threatened by habitat loss due to logging and agricultural conversion, though this is not a major threat.

Bibliography. Chasen & Kloss (1928), Francis et al. (2008), Heaney (1985), Hollister (1913b), Lyon (1906), Taylor (1934), Thomas (1898c), Thorington et al. (2012).

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Rodentia

Family

Sciuridae

Genus

Nannosciurus

Loc

Nannosciurus melanotis

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

Sciurus melanotis

S. Muller 1840
1840
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