Southern Amazon Red Squirrel
Sciurus spadiceus
- Class
- Mammal
- Rarity
- Common
- Observations
- 285
- Most observed in
- 🇧🇴 Bolivia
- Conservation
- Least Concern
Description
The southern Amazon red squirrel (Sciurus spadiceus), 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 (19 to 25 in), 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".
Summary adapted from the Wikipedia article “Southern Amazon red squirrel”.