The plantain squirrel, oriental squirrel or tricoloured squirrel (Callosciurus notatus) is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae found in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand in a wide range of habitats: forests, mangroves, parks, gardens, and agricultural areas. Fruit farmers consider them to be pests.

Plantain squirrel
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Sciuridae
Genus: Callosciurus
Species:
C. notatus
Binomial name
Callosciurus notatus
(Boddaert, 1785)
Subspecies[2]
  • C. n. notatus
  • C. n. diardii
  • C. n. vittatus
  • C. n. suffusus
  • C. n. miniatus
Distribution in red
Plantain Squirrel
Mating pair

Description

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Its body is about 20–30 cm (8–12 in) long with a similar-sized tail. It is greyish/brown with a chestnut belly and a black and white stripe on the side. It is very quick and agile in trees, able to jump a few metres between trees, and rarely wanders on the ground.

Diet

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Its diet consists mostly of leaves and fruits, but it also eats insects and bird eggs. It is known to break open twigs that contain ant larvae to eat them.[3] It can eat fruits much bigger than itself, such as mangoes, jackfruit, or coconuts.

Taxonomy

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The genus name Callosciurus means "beautiful squirrel". Kloss's squirrel (Callosciurus albescens) is sometimes considered a subspecies.

References

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  1. ^ Duckworth, J. W. (2017) [errata version of 2016 assessment]. "Callosciurus notatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T3600A115065317. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T3600A22254046.en. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  2. ^ Thorington, R.W. Jr.; Hoffmann, 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.). The Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 754–818. ISBN 0-8018-8221-4. OCLC 26158608.
  3. ^ Anja Leo, Damage to Macaranga ant-plants by a myrmecophagous squirrel (Callosciurus notatus, Rodentia, Sciuridae) in West Malaysia [1] Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine
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