Sciurus spadiceus, Olfers, 1818
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6840226 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6818794 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/064D0660-FFE3-ED1E-FA66-FE0CF6BEFD34 |
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treatment provided by |
Diego |
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scientific name |
Sciurus spadiceus |
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Southern Amazon Red Squirrel
French: Ecureuil d'Olfers / German: Stidamazonas-Rothérnchen / Spanish: Ardilla del Amazonas meridional
Taxonomy. Sciurus spadiceus Olfers, 1818 View in CoL ,
Brazil. Restricted by P. Hershkovitz in 1959
to Cuyaba (= Cuiaba), Matto Grosso.
Three subspecies are recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution.
S.s.spadiceusOlfers,1818—WBrazil,butboundariespoorlyknown.
S.s.stembachiJ.A.Allen,1914—Bolivia,butboundariespoorlyknown.
S. s. tricolor Tschudi, 1844 — S Colombia, E Ecuador, and E Peru E of the Andes, but boundaries poorly known.
Descriptive notes. Head-body 240-290 mm, tail 235-340 mm; weight 570-660 g. The Southern Amazon Red Squirrel has dark chestnutred or rustorange dorsum, peppered with black. Ears are thinly haired and protrude conspicuously; head is often black or has faintly defined dark cap. Feet are dark red, mixed with black or solid black. Venteris pale orange, white, or yellowish. Tail is substantial and bushy, usually black at base and orange or rusty at tip. Melanism is known. Subspecies steinbachi is large and pale form, nominate spadiceus is intermediate in color with a more reddish orange cast to face and venter, and #ricolor has dark brownish to black dorsum.
Habitat. Lowland primary and secondary forests of the Amazon and in the foothills of the Andes. Southern Amazon Red Squirrels can use terra firma and seasonally flooded forests.
Food and Feeding. Southern Amazon Squirrels forage on the ground and in the canopy. It feeds primarily on nuts and fruits of palms and other large seeded trees. In the western Amazon, they specialize on large nuts with thick hard endocarps from three large-seeded genera (Astrocaryum, Scheelea [both Arecaceae], and Dipteryx [Fabaceae]) that provide 98% of their diets. Their loud gnawing to reach endosperm through thickened coverings is an excellent indicator of their presence. Nuts are often cached in the ground, and several individuals can easily remove hundreds of nuts from a palm in only a few days.
Breeding. Juvenile Southern Amazon Squirrels have been seen in Peru in early June, which suggests that breeding occurs at least in autumn in the Southern Hemisphere and possibly around August in Bolivia. Litters have 2—4 young.
Activity patterns. Southern Amazon Squirrels are diurnal and active throughout the year in all levels of the canopy and on the ground.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Southern Amazon Red Squirrel is usually solitary and constructs round drey nests of green leaves and twigs. Densities are low, 0-08-0-12 ind/ha. It does not travel in the forest canopy but rather descends to the ground and escapes through undergrowth when alarmed. It rarely calls, but when threatened,it produces an alarm call that sounds much like a sneeze followed by a series of chatters and chucks. Home ranges are 25-50 ha.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Population trend of the Southern Amazon Squirrel is unknown. Lack of information on ecology, natural history, or threats likely impedes conservation and management efforts. These large-bodied squirrels are hunted for food and decrease in frequency where hunted. They appear to be negatively affected by deforestation and fragmentation.
Bibliography. Anderson (1997), Bodmer (1995), Eisenberg & Redford (1999), Emmons (1984, 1987 1990), Gomez et al. (2003), Gwinn et al. (2012), Hershkovitz (1959), Jernigan (2009), Lainson et al. (2004), Mena-Valenzuela (1998), Patton (1984), Peres & Baider (1997), 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.
