Callosciurus pygerythrus (I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1833)
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6840226 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6840544 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/064D0660-FFD4-ED2A-FACA-F824FCC3F296 |
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treatment provided by |
Diego |
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scientific name |
Callosciurus pygerythrus |
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Irrawaddy Squirrel
Callosciurus pygerythrus View in CoL
French: Ecureuil de |'lrrawaddy / German: Irawadi-Schénhérnchen / Spanish: Ardilla de Irrawaddy
Other common names: Hoary-bellied Squirrel
Taxonomy. Sciurus pygerythrus Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1831 ,
“dans les forets de
Syriam, au Pégou,” Myanmar.
Seven subspecies are recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution.
C.p.pygerythrus1.GeoffroySaint-Hilaire,1831—S&SCMyanmar,betweentheIrrawaddyandSittingrivers.
C.p.blythiiTytler,1854—NEIndiaandBangladesh,EoftheBrahmaputraRiver.
C.p.janettaThomas,1914—SWMyanmar,WoftheIrrawaddyRiverandNtotheSChindwinrivers.
C.p.lokroidesHodgson,1836—Nepal,Bhutan,andneighboringIndia.
C.p.mearsiBonhote,1906—N&NCMyanmar,EoftheChindwinRiver.
C.p.owensiThomas&Wroughton,1916—NEIndiaandNWMyanmar,betweentheBrahmaputraandtheupperChindwinrivers.
C. p. stevensi Thomas, 1908 — S China (Tibet = Xizang) and NE India, likely including Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Nagaland, W of the upper Chindwin River. Subspecific affinity of the small eastern population in S Yunnan (China) is unknown.
Descriptive notes. Head-body 187-230 mm,tail 110-220 mm; weight 230-300 g. Dorsum of the Irrawaddy Squirrelis dark olive-brown. Its frontlegs,feet, and tail are grayer than dorsum; and tail has a black tip. A cream or ocherous buff hip patch appears seasonally. Venter is bluish gray, transitioning into a cream and orange buff coloration. Pelage varies seasonally, being brighter and with a hip patch during the wet season in summer, and duller and without a hip patch during the dry season in winter. Nominate subspecies pygerythrus is cinnamon-rufous ventrally; paler on chin, throat, and breast; olive brown dorsally; and has a black tail-tip. Subspecies blythii has a dorsum that varies from olive brown mid-dorsally to buffy brown laterally. This form has a grayish venter with a slightly buffy abdomen. It has seasonal white or creamy hip patches. Subspecies Janelta is pale ocherous-buff ventrally, and gray-olive dorsally. The short black tail-tip is inconspicuous. Cream flash mark on hip is not seasonal. Subspecies lokrides is agouti brown dorsally, more buffy laterally, grayish ventrally with a buffy venter, and has seasonal buffy orange hip patches. Subspecies mearsi has an agouti dorsum, ranging from buffy brown to light brownish olive; a buffy venter; a buffy eye ring; and seasonal white hip patches. Subspecies owensi is more rufous dorsally than other subspecies during the summer, with middle of back cinnamon-brown and sides light brownish olive agouti. It has a seasonal ocherous-buff hip patch, delineated from ventral coloration by some of the agouti dorsal pelage. Subspecies stevens: has an agouti dorsum, ranging from light brownish olive to cinnamon brown. Venter is gray, and it has seasonal buffy hip patches.
Habitat. Secondary and primary forests. In Dampa Wildlife Reserve (Mizoram, E India), the Irrawaddy Squirrel was observed more frequently in secondary forests than in primary forests, and most often around settlements. In China,it occurs in rainforests,at elevations of¢.600-1300 m,often in cane shrubs at edge offorest or in banana plantations.
Food and Feeding. The Irrawaddy Squirrel feeds on fruits, the flower buds of bananas, and insects. It has been known to damage orange crops, and it has also been attracted to a bait of meat. It frequently forages on the ground.
Breeding. Female Irrawaddy Squirrels reproduce once each year, with a litter size of three to four young.
Activity patterns. The Irrawaddy Squirrel is diurnal and utilizes tree dens or makes grass-and-stick nests high in trees.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Irrawaddy Squirrel occurs at low densities, which are thought to be 0-05-0-05 ind/ha.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Irrawaddy Squirrel is listed on Schedule II of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972. Threats include habitat loss and hunting for food and medicinal purposes.
Bibliography. Corbet & Hill (1992), Ghosh (1980), Moore & Tate (1965), Shankar Raman et al. (1995), Shrestha et al. (2008), Smith & Yan Xie (2008), 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.
