The dusky palm squirrel has recently been split into two species. The Indian form (formerly subspecies F. sublineatus sublineatus) has now been referred to as the Nilgiri palm squirrel whereas the Sri Lankan form (formerly F. s. obscurus) may now be referred to as the Dusky palm squirrel.[2] They are species of rodent in the Sciuridae family.
The former range of the species, before the taxonomic split[3] was in both India and Sri Lanka, though the Nilgiri palm squirrel (F. sublineatus) is now restricted in distribution to the Western Ghats of India. Very little is known of this squirrel that is probably the smallest in the genus weighing about 40g. Its new status as an endemic mammal to India means that records need updating and more research is necessary. The Dusky palm squirrel in Sri Lanka (F. obscurus) is better documented as by W.W.A. Phillips in Manual of the mammals of Sri Lanka. It is much larger than the former species with longer, thicker stripes. Both species are confined to wet humid forests either in the Western Ghats and Nilgiri hills (and surrounding areas such as around Kodaikanal in India) or to the wet zone forests in Sri Lanka and indicate a preference for hilly terrain, often fringing tea or coffee estates. This squirrel, at least in Sri Lanka is the highest altitude member of the genus.
References
- ↑ Rajamani, N., Molur, S. & Nameer, P. O. (2008). Funambulus sublineatus. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 6 January 2009.
- ↑ Rajith Dissanayake. 2012. The Nilgiri striped squirrel (Funambulus sublineatus), and the Dusky striped squirrel (Funambulus obscurus), two additions to the endemic mammal fauna of India and Sri Lanka. Small Mammal Mail. Vol 3(2):6-7
- ↑ Rajith Dissanayake and Tatsuo Oshida. 2012. The systematics of the dusky striped squirrel, Funambulus sublineatus (Waterhouse, 1838) (Rodentia: Sciuridae) and its relationships to Layard's squirrel, Funambulus layardi (Blyth, 1849). Journal of Natural History. Vol 46(1-4):91-116
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| | | | Callosciurus |
- Ear-spot Squirrel (Callosciurus adamsi)
- Kloss Squirrel (Callosciurus albescens)
- Kinabalu Squirrel (Callosciurus baluensis)
- Gray-bellied Squirrel (Callosciurus caniceps)
- Pallas's Squirrel (Callosciurus erythraeus)
- Finlayson's Squirrel (Callosciurus finlaysonii)
- Inornate Squirrel (Callosciurus inornatus)
- Mentawai Squirrel (Callosciurus melanogaster)
- Black-striped Squirrel (Callosciurus nigrovittatus)
- Plantain Squirrel (Callosciurus notatus)
- Borneo Black-banded Squirrel (Callosciurus orestes)
- Phayre's Squirrel (Callosciurus phayrei)
- Prevost's Squirrel (Callosciurus prevostii)
- Irrawaddy Squirrel (Callosciurus pygerythrus)
- Anderson's Squirrel (Callosciurus quinquestriatus)
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| Dremomys
(Red-cheeked squirrels) |
- Bornean Mountain Ground Squirrel (Dremomys everetti)
- Red-throated squirrel (Dremomys gularis)
- Orange-bellied Himalayan Squirrel (Dremomys lokriah)
- Perny's Long-nosed Squirrel (Dremomys pernyi)
- Red-hipped Squirrel (Dremomys pyrrhomerus)
- Asian Red-cheeked Squirrel (Dremomys rufigenis)
|
|---|
| | Exilisciurus |
- Philippine Pygmy Squirrel (Exilisciurus concinnus)
- Least Pygmy Squirrel (Exilisciurus exilis)
- Tufted Pygmy Squirrel (Exilisciurus whiteheadi)
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|---|
| | Glyphotes |
- Sculptor Squirrel (Glyphotes simus)
|
|---|
| | Hyosciurus |
- Montane Long-nosed Squirrel (Hyosciurus heinrichi)
- Lowland Long-nosed Squirrel (Hyosciurus ileile)
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|---|
| Lariscus
(Striped ground squirrels) |
- Four-striped Ground Squirrel (Lariscus hosei)
- Three-striped Ground Squirrel (Lariscus insignis)
- Niobe Ground Squirrel (Lariscus niobe)
- Mentawai Three-striped Squirrel (Lariscus obscurus)
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|---|
| | Menetes |
- Berdmore's Ground Squirrel (Menetes berdmorei)
|
|---|
| | Nannosciurus |
- Black-eared Squirrel (Nannosciurus melanotis)
|
|---|
| | Prosciurillus |
- Secretive Dwarf Squirrel (Prosciurillus abstrusus)
- Whitish Dwarf Squirrel (Prosciurillus leucomus)
- Celebes Dwarf Squirrel (Prosciurillus murinus)
- Sanghir Squirrel (Prosciurillus rosenbergii)
- Weber's Dwarf Squirrel (Prosciurillus weberi)
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|---|
| | Rhinosciurus |
- Shrew-faced Squirrel (Rhinosciurus laticaudatus)
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|---|
| | Rubrisciurus | |
|---|
| | Sundasciurus |
- Subgenus Aletesciurus: Davao Squirrel (Sundasciurus davensis)
- Horse-tailed Squirrel (Sundasciurus hippurus)
- Northern Palawan Tree Squirrel (Sundasciurus juvencus)
- Mindanao Squirrel (Sundasciurus mindanensis)
- Culion Tree Squirrel (Sundasciurus moellendorffi)
- Philippine Tree Squirrel (Sundasciurus philippinensis)
- Palawan Montane Squirrel (Sundasciurus rabori)
- Samar Squirrel (Sundasciurus samarensis)
- Southern Palawan Tree Squirrel (Sundasciurus steerii)
- Subgenus Sundasciurus: Brooke's Squirrel (Sundasciurus brookei)
- Fraternal Squirrel (Sundasciurus fraterculus)
- Jentink's Squirrel (Sundasciurus jentinki)
- Low's Squirrel (Sundasciurus lowii)
- Slender Squirrel (Sundasciurus tenuis)
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| Tamiops
(Asiatic striped squirrels) |
- Himalayan Striped Squirrel (Tamiops mcclellandii)
- Maritime Striped Squirrel (Tamiops maritimus)
- Cambodian Striped Squirrel (Tamiops rodolphii)
- Swinhoe's Striped Squirrel (Tamiops swinhoei)
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| | Funambulus |
- Subgenus Prasadsciurus: Northern Palm Squirrel (Funambulus pennantii)
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Category |
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