Oriental giant squirrel
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| Oriental giant squirrels Fossil range: Middle Miocene to Recent |
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 Indian Giant Squirrel
Ratufa indica |
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Oriental giant squirrels (genus Ratufa) form a taxon of squirrels under the subfamily Ratufinae. They are found in parts of South- and South-east Asia.
There are four living species of oriental giant squirrels:
- Pale Giant Squirrel, Ratufa affinis
- Black Giant Squirrel, Ratufa bicolor
- Indian Giant Squirrel, Ratufa indica
- Grizzled Giant Squirrel, Ratufa macroura
In prehistoric times this lineage was more widespread. For example, animals very similar to Ratufa and possibly belonging into this genus - at least belonging into the Ratufinae - were part of the early Langhian (Middle Miocene, some 16-15.2 million years ago) Hambach fauna of Germany.[1]
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Gee et al. (2007)
[edit] References
- Gee, Carole T.; Sander, P. Martin & Petzelberger, Bianka E.M. (2003): A Miocene rodent nut cache in coastal dunes of the Lower Rhine Embayment, Germany. Palaeontology 46(6): 1133-1149. doi:10.1046/j.0031-0239.2003.00337.x (HTML abstract)
[edit] External links
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