Sun squirrel
Genus of rodents / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sun squirrels (genus Heliosciurus), form a taxon of squirrels under the subfamily Xerinae and the tribe Protoxerini. They are only found in sub-Saharan Africa.
Quick Facts Sun squirrels Temporal range: Late Pleistocene to Recent, Scientific classification ...
Sun squirrels Temporal range: Late Pleistocene to Recent | |
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H. rufobrachium, Uganda | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Rodentia |
Family: | Sciuridae |
Tribe: | Protoxerini |
Genus: | Heliosciurus Trouessart, 1880 |
Type species | |
Sciurus gambianus | |
Species[1] | |
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Either the habit of basking in the sun on tree branches[citation needed] or the tail being commonly used as a sunshade[2] gave this group its common name.
Sun squirrels have been implicated in the spread of human monkeypox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[citation needed]
There are six species in the genus:
- Gambian sun squirrel, Heliosciurus gambianus
- Mutable sun squirrel, Heliosciurus mutabilis
- Small sun squirrel, Heliosciurus punctatus
- Red-legged sun squirrel, Heliosciurus rufobrachium
- Ruwenzori sun squirrel, Heliosciurus ruwenzorii
- Zanj sun squirrel, Heliosciurus undulatus