Funambulus sublineatus (Waterhouse, 1838)
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6840226 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6818632 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/064D0660-FFC5-ED38-FF11-FC0DFC9BFEC7 |
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treatment provided by |
Diego |
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scientific name |
Funambulus sublineatus |
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Dusky Palm Squirrel
Funambulus sublineatus View in CoL
French: Ecureuil sombre / German: Dunkles Palmenhérnchen / Spanish: Ardilla de palma oscura
Other common names: Dusky-striped Squirrel
Taxonomy. Sciurus sublineatus Waterhouse, 1838,
Nilgiri Hills, Madras, India.
Two subspecies are recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution.
F.s.sublineatusWaterhouse,1838—SWIndia.
F.s. obscurus Pelzeln & Kohl, 1886 — Sri Lanka.
Descriptive notes. Head-body 110-130 mm, tail 94-135 mm; weight mean 44.1 g. The Dusky Palm Squirrel is the smallest species of the genus. It has three dorsal stripes, obscured by long brown fur. Venter is dull and drab andtail lacks a red mid-ventral stripe. Subspecies sublineatus has narrower dark brown stripes (3-5 mm) between the pale dorsal stripes than obscurus (6-8 mm).
Habitat. Forests from near sea level to above ¢.2100 m. Near the Palni Mountains, in southern India, the Dusky Palm Squirrelis found in elevations of ¢.1372-2134 m,this is above elevations inhabited by the Indian Palm Squirrel (E palmarum). In Sri Lanka, it occurs in forest hills at elevations above ¢.610 m, but in the south-western part of the island it can be found in forests of the wet hilly country almostat sea level.
Food and Feeding. There is no information available for this species.
Breeding. There is no specific information available for this species, but one litter of the Dusky Palm Squirrel was recorded as consisting of two young.
Activity patterns. There is no specific information available for this species, but the Dusky Palm Squirrel is diurnal and semi-arboreal, mostly within the scrub level ofthe forest.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. There is no information available for this species.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List. The Dusky Palm Squirrel has a severely fragmented distribution and is confined to riparian habitats, which are in a continuous decline. Major threats are habitat loss and degradation due to selective logging, reed collection for construction purposes, and forest fires, and the use of pesticides. The Dusky Palm Squirrel is not protected by any legislation.
Bibliography. Hayssen et al. (1993), Johnsingh & Manjrekar (2015), Jordan et al. (2005h), Phillips (1980), Prater (1965), Rajamani et al. (2008a), 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.
