| Yucatan squirrel | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Sciuridae |
| Genus: | Sciurus |
| Species: | S. yucatanensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Sciurus yucatanensis J. A. Allen, 1877 | |
| Subspecies[2] | |
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 | |
| range of the Yucatan squirrel | |
| Synonyms | |
Sciurus carolinensis var.yucatanensisJ.A. Allen, 1877 | |
TheYucatan squirrel (Sciurus yucatanensis), originally named theYucatan gray squirrel, also once named theCampeche squirrel, is atree squirrel in the genusSciurus found in theYucatán Peninsula and adjacent areas. It is native to northernBelize, northeasternGuatemala, and southeastMexico.[3][1]
The Yucatan squirrel lives in dry deciduous and evergreen forests, semiarid pine-oak woodlands, andsecondary forest growing in formerly logged areas.[1][4] They are found in lowlands below analtitude of 750 metres (2,460 ft).[1] They are active during the day and rest during the night, spending most of their time in trees.[1] They are most active in the early morning, but may be seen sunning on a branch later in the day.[1]
Theirdreys (or nests), to be found in branches high up in the trees,[5] are built from leaves and twigs.[1] Their food consists of soft fruit, nuts and seeds,[1] whilst Reid in 2009 concluded that their main diet consists of flowers, buds, and shoots.[1] Females generally give birth to two or three young during the April to Augustdry season.[1]
They are predated bybirds of prey, wild cats and dogs,procyonids,primates, and snakes.[5]
The Yucatan squirrel is 450–500 millimetres (18–20 in) long,[6] larger in size than theEastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis).[7] The Yucatan squirrel,Collie's squirrel (S. colliaei), and thevariegated squirrel (S. variegatoides) have similar fur colours and patterns, but differ in size.[6] The relatively long adult tail of has a length of 240 mm (9.4 in).[6][8] Both sexes are the same size, with a mass of 341–475 grams (12.0–16.8 oz).[5]
ItsPelage is coarse and harsh.[7] The upper parts of the body are coloured black and grey, with additional yellow toochraceousbuff colourings.[6] The lower body is colured off-white, yellow-grey and black.[6] The tail is white, with a well-defined lines of black, and black on either side of the central white area. The tail hairs are shorter than on the head and body.[7] The face has a buff-coloured patch above the nose, with the sides of head coloured mainly black.[8] The grey, brown and white ears are narrow and pointed, tufted and an off-white colour from November to February in northern populations and from February to April in southern populations.[7][6]
The skull ofS. yucatanensis is short and broad, with a length of about 57 mm (2.2 in), the facial portion being particularly short.[6]
Thistaxon was originally described as a variety of thegray squirrel asSciurus carolinensis var.yucatanensis by the American zoologistJoel Asaph Allen in 1877, based on four specimens he received fromMérida, Yucatán, collected by the German-American collectorArthur Schott in 1865. In his 1877 reportMonographs of North American Rodentia, Allen mused if it was not more appropriate to name the animal as a separatespecies, based on the observed distinctiveness of the specimens he had collected. He coined the name 'Yucatan gray squirrel'.[7]S. yucatanensis ssp.baliolus was published by the American naturalistEdward William Nelson in 1901, based on a specimen from Apazote, inCampeche, Mexico.[9]S. yucatanensis ssp.phaeopus was published by George G. Goodwin in 1932 based on 11 specimens collected in Secanquim and Finca Chamá, inAlta Verapaz, Guatemala.[8]
Threesubspecies are recognised:
Deforestation is considered to be a 'major threat' to the population, which may also be affected by hunting, in particular in the northern end of the Yucatán Peninsula.[5][13]
