Funambulus Lesson 1835

Funambulus Lesson 1835, Illustr. Zool.: pl. 43.

Type Species: Sciurus indicus Lesson 1835

Synonyms: Palmista Gray 1867; Tamiodes Pocock 1923 .

Species and subspecies: 5 species with 11 subspecies in 2 subgenera:

Subgenus Funambulus (Funambulus) Lesson 1835

Subgenus Funambulus (Prasadsciurus) Moore and Tate 1965

Species Funambulus (Funambulus) layardi Blyth 1849

Subspecies Funambulus (Funambulus) layardi subsp. layardi Blyth 1849

Subspecies Funambulus (Funambulus) layardi subsp. dravidianus Robinson 1917

Species Funambulus (Funambulus) palmarum (Linnaeus 1766)

Subspecies Funambulus (Funambulus) palmarum subsp. palmarum Linnaeus 1766

Subspecies Funambulus (Funambulus) palmarum subsp. brodiei Blyth 1849

Subspecies Funambulus (Funambulus) palmarum subsp. robertsoni Wroughton 1916

Species Funambulus (Prasadsciurus) pennantii Wroughton 1905

Subspecies Funambulus (Prasadsciurus) pennantii subsp. pennantii Wroughton 1905

Subspecies Funambulus (Prasadsciurus) pennantii subsp. argentescens Wroughton 1905

Species Funambulus (Funambulus) sublineatus Waterhouse 1838

Subspecies Funambulus (Funambulus) sublineatus subsp. sublineatus Waterhouse 1838

Subspecies Funambulus (Funambulus) sublineatus subsp. obscurus Pelzeln and Kohl 1886

Species Funambulus (Funambulus) tristriatus Waterhouse 1837

Subspecies Funambulus (Funambulus) tristriatus subsp. tristriatus Waterhouse 1837

Subspecies Funambulus (Funambulus) tristriatus subsp. numarius Wroughton 1916

Discussion: Tribe Funambulini according to Moore (1959:170). Reviewed by Moore (1960) and Moore and Tate (1965). Includes Funambulus and Prasadsciurus as subgenera. Prasad (1957) proposed a separate subfamily for the genus, based on the supposedly unique anatomy of the male reproductive tract. Trends in evolution of karyotypes analyzed by Aswathanarayana (1987). Grouped with African squirrels by Moore (1959). However, recent molecular studies suggest that Funambulus is a basal member of the Callosciurinae (Mercer and Roth, 2003), as suggested earlier on the basis of bacular morphology (Pocock, 1923: 239).