In Which Country Can You Find This Colorful, Giant Squirrel
| Cream-coloured giant squirrel | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| From Sepilok, Sabah, Malaysia. Bornean populations, as the i shown, often are much darker than those elsewhere | |
| Conservation status | |
| | |
| CITES Appendix II (CITES)[two] | |
Scientific nomenclature  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Form: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Sciuridae |
| Genus: | Ratufa |
| Species: | R. affinis |
| Binomial proper name | |
| Ratufa affinis (Raffles, 1821) | |
| Subspecies[iii] | |
| |
 | |
| Cream-coloured giant squirrel range | |
The cream-coloured giant squirrel or pale giant squirrel (Ratufa affinis) is a large tree squirrel in the genus Ratufa found in forests in the Thai-Malay Peninsula, Sumatra (Indonesia), Kalimantan (Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia) and nearby small islands. The species is almost threatened and vulnerable to habitat degradation,[one] and it has probably been extirpated in Singapore where the last sighting was in 1995.[4] Reported sightings in Vietnam in 1984 are considered to be dubious.[3]
Description [edit]
The cream-coloured giant squirrel is one of the largest squirrels. It has a caput–and–body length of 31–38 cm (1 ft 0 in – 1 ft 3 in), a tail length of 37–44 cm (1 ft 3 in – i ft v in) and weighs 875–ane,500 g (ane.929–three.307 lb).[v] [half-dozen] On average, adults of both sexes have a head–and–torso length of nearly 34 cm (1 ft 1 in) and tail length of 42 cm (one ft 5 in), while females weight almost ane,250 1000 (2.76 lb) and males 1,050 g (ii.31 lb).[vii]
Equally suggested by its name, the cream-coloured giant squirrel is typically overall foam to very light orangish-brownish, while the underparts are whitish-cream.[5] [7] In Borneo and nearby small-scale islands where it is the only Ratufa giant squirrel, some populations resemble foam-coloured giant squirrels from elsewhere, but most have upperparts that are medium-dark gray, sometimes virtually black (contrasting strongly with the whitish-cream underparts), the flanks and thighs can have a carmine-buff tinge and the cheeks are orange.[6] [7]
Habitat [edit]
The cream-coloured giant squirrel makes its home in lower montane and secondary forests, frequenting dipterocarp copse. Information technology rarely enters plantations or settlements, preferring the forest. Although this squirrel primarily inhabits the upper canopy of the forest, it volition at times come to ground in order to hunt smaller species of squirrels[ citation needed ], or to cross gaps in the trees.
Behaviour [edit]
This species is diurnal, agile from morning to evening. They alive either in pairs or alone. When it is angry or shocked, information technology will give a loud audio that tin exist heard from distant.
Although this squirrel often will make holes in copse for shelter, during the convenance season information technology constructs a big globular drey (or nest) in tree branches, roughly the size of an hawkeye's aerie. The young are born and raised in this nest.
The master dietary habits of Ratufa affinis are seeds, which it supplements with leaves, fruits, nuts, bark, insects, and eggs. The squirrel has a very short pollex that it uses to hold and control its food while feeding.
Unlike other tree squirrels, the cream-coloured giant squirrel does non sit upright with its tail biconvex over its dorsum while feeding; instead, it balances itself with its hind feet on a branch and then that its easily are free to command its food. In this position the axis of the squirrels body is held at right angles to the support, with its head and forequarters on ane side of the co-operative, and the tail equally a counterweight on the other side.
Taxonomy [edit]
The tabular array below lists the nine recognized subspecies of Ratufa affinis, along with whatever synonyms associated with each subspecies:[three]
| Subspecies | Authority | Synonyms |
|---|---|---|
| R. a. affinis | Raffles (1821) | albiceps, aureiventer, frontalis, interposita, johorensis, klossi, pyrsonota |
| R. a. bancana | Lyon (1906) | none |
| R. a. baramensis | Bonhote (1900) | banguei, dulitensis, lumholtzi, sandakanensis |
| R. a. bunguranensis | Thomas and Hartert (1894) | confinis, nanogigas, notabilis, sirhassenensis |
| R. a. cothurnata | Lyon (1911) | griseicollis |
| R. a. ephippium | Müller (1838) | vittata, vittatula |
| R. a. hypoleucos | Horsfield (1823) | arusinus, balae, catemana, femoralis, masae, nigrescens, piniensis |
| R. a. insignis | Miller (1903) | bulana, carimonensis, condurensis, conspicua |
| R. a. polia | Lyon (1906) | none |
References [edit]
- ^ a b Meijaard, E. (2017). "Ratufa affinis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T19376A22261483. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T19376A22261483.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org . Retrieved 2022-01-14 .
- ^ a b c Thorington, R.W., Jr.; Hoffman, R.S. (2005). "Family Sciuridae". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 754. ISBN978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
- ^ Singapore biodiversity : an encyclopedia of the natural surroundings and sustainable evolution. Ng, Peter K. L., Corlett, Richard., Tan, Hugh T. Westward., Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research. Singapore: Editions Didier Millet in association with Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Enquiry. 2011. ISBN978-981-4260-08-4. OCLC 719429723.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ a b Francis, C.M. (2008). A Guide to the Mammals of Southeast Asia. Princeton Academy Press. pp. 140–141, 330. ISBN978-0-691-13551-9.
- ^ a b Payne, J.; C.F. Francis (1998). A Field Guide to the Mammals of Borneo (three ed.). The Sabah Society. pp. 80–81, 233–234. ISBN967-99947-ane-six.
- ^ a b c Thorington Jr., R.Due west.; J.Fifty. Koprowski; M.A. Steele; J.F. Whatton (2012). Squirrels of the Globe. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 23–24. ISBN978-i-4214-0469-one.
Bibliography [edit]
- Nowak, Ronald K. Walker'due south mammals of the world. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999. ISBN 978-0-8018-5789-viii, OCLC: 39045218. Chapter: "Sciuridae: squirrels, chipmunks, marmots, and prairie dogs" in volume ii.
External links [edit]
- Pale giant squirrel (Ratufa affinis) - Arkive.org page about this species, includes images.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cream-coloured_giant_squirrel
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