Funambulus trisiriatus (Waterhouse, 1837)
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6840226 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6840501 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/064D0660-FFCA-ED38-FACF-F80CFBA4F4AF |
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treatment provided by |
Diego |
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scientific name |
Funambulus trisiriatus |
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Jungle Palm Squirrel
French: Ecureuil a trois bandes / German: Dschungel-Palmenhérnchen / Spanish: Ardilla de palma de jungle
Other common names: Jungle Striped Squirrel, Western Ghats Squirrel, Western Ghats Striped Squirrel
Taxonomy. Sciurus tristriatus Waterhouse, 1837 ,
“...the more southern parts of Hindostan.” Restricted by R. C. Wroughton and J. C. Moore and G. H. H. Tate in 1905 and 1965, respectively, to Western Ghats, south of the latitude 12° N, India. Two subspecies are recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution.
F. t. tristriatus Waterhouse, 1837 — W coast of India, between latitudes 20° N and 12° N
FE t. numarius Wroughton, 1916 — W coast of India, from latitude 12° N to the S tip.
Descriptive notes. Head—body mean 160 mm (males) and 159 mm (females), tail mean 143 mm (males) and 139 mm (females); weight mean ¢.139 g. The Jungle Palm Squirrel is the largest species of Funambulus. Dorsum is dark with three pale buffy longitudinal stripes, venter is pale and tail has a red mid-ventral stripe. Subspecies tristriatus has narrower and duller dorsal stripes than numarius.
Habitat. Evergreen deciduous rainforests and cultivated fields of the Western Ghats and south-western India. The Jungle Palm Squirrel occursat elevations of ¢.700-2100 m.
Food and Feeding. The Jungle Palm Squirrel feeds heavily on crops, including male flowers of coconut palm (Cocos nucifera, Arecaceae) and grains of paddy-cultivated rice. It also consumes termites, beetles, caterpillars, scale insects, and other crop pests. There is no information available on its diet in natural environments.
Breeding. A sex ratio of 1:1 was observed in Karnataka, and breeding occurs yearround. Mating behavior includes mating chases and mating calls, and frequently features aggression between competing males. Mean litter size is 2:3 young. Young are born hairless with head-body lengths of 42-51 mm,tail of 22-32 mm, and weight of 4-5-7-2 g. Eyes of young open at 24-30 days and weaning occurs at 60-69 days.
Activity patterns. Limited information is available for this species, but the Jungle Palm Squirrel is diurnal and semi-arboreal. It builds globular nests, with a mean diameter of 22 cm. Nests are built in trees at 2-29 m above the ground, although most are built below 10 m (median 5 m).
Movements, Home range and Social organization. In Karnataka, India, population density of the Jungle Palm Squirrel was estimated as 3-2 ind/ha and 2-5 ind/ha, during the years of 1978 and 1979 respectively.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The [UCN Red List. The Jungle Palm Squirrelis a locally common species, but a population decline of over 10% has been observed in the last 20 years due to habitat loss and pest control. Major damming projects and systematic replacement of native shade tree species in coffee and cardamom plantations with exotic species, which seem to be avoided by the Jungle Palm Squirrel, support a predicted decline of over 10% in the next ten years.
Bibliography. Bhat & Mathew (1984a, 1984b), Johnsingh & Manjrekar (2015), Jordan et al. (2005i), Moore & Tate (1965), Nameer & Molur (2008c¢), Thorington et al. (2012), Wroughton (1905).
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.
