Southern Amazon Red Squirrel
Sciurus spadiceus
- Least concern
- Card rarity: Common
- Mammals
The southern Amazon red squirrel, is a squirrel species from South America where it inhabits forests in much of north-western South America east of the Andes. Three subspecies are currently recognised. It is a dark red colour, or a dark brown grizzled with ochre, has whitish underparts and grows to a total length of 48 to 63 cm, including a very long tail. It spends much of its time on the ground in the undergrowth and feeds largely on nuts. Little is known of its breeding habits, but it is a sociable species, several individuals often feeding together in one tree. This squirrel faces no particular threats, has a wide range and is relatively common, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature lists it as a "least-concern species".
Classification
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Sciuridae
- Genus
- Sciurus