Heliosciurus Trouessart, 1880
publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.1093/mspecies/sez010 |
publication LSID |
lsid:zoobank.org:pub:4B94D3EF-4242-4918-9580-63133F66DEBD |
persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03EF2C66-4575-FF8B-FEEC-FB8DFC85FD4A |
treatment provided by |
Felipe |
scientific name |
Heliosciurus Trouessart, 1880 |
status |
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Heliosciurus Trouessart, 1880 View in CoL
Heliosciurus Trouessart, 1880:292 View in CoL . Type species Sciurus gambianus Ogilby,1835:103 , designated by Opinion 464of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (1957) in which Sciurus annulatus Desmarest, 1822:338 was suppressed.
CONTEXT AND CONTENT. Order Rodentia View in CoL , suborder Sciuromorpha View in CoL , family Sciuridae View in CoL , subfamily Xerinae View in CoL , tribe Protoxerini View in CoL . The genus Heliosciurus View in CoL currently contains six species: Heliosciurus gambianus View in CoL , H. mutabilis View in CoL , H. punctatus View in CoL , H. rufobrachium View in CoL , H. ruwenzorii View in CoL , and H. undulatus ( Thorington and Hoffmann 2005) View in CoL . The generic name is derived from a combination of two Greek words, helios meaning sun and skioura, which is a compound of the Greek words skia (shade) and oura (tail), implying that its tail is held upright as a sunshade ( Rosevear 1969). The following identification key for the species is based on that published by Monadjem et al. (2015):
1. Red or reddish-brown on limbs, contrasting with duller dorsal pelage............................................. H. rufobrachium Limbs View in CoL not red and not contrasting with dorsal pelage.......... 2
2. Conspicuous mid-ventral white stripes (flanked by cream or gray ventral pelage) ....................................... H. ruwenzorii View in CoL
No mid-ventral white stripe (although ventral pelage may be white) .................................................................................3
3. Dorsal pelage rich brown, or rufous brown; restricted to southern Africa ................................................ H. mutabilis
Dorsal pelage duller, usually gray or gray-brown; marginally present in southern Africa.................................................. 4
4. Larger (greatest length of skull> 51 mm); restricted to eastern regions of Kenya and Tanzania.......... H. undulatus
Smaller (greatest length of skull <51 mm); absent from eastern regions of East Africa ............................................ 5
5. Dorsal pelage paler gray; occurs in savannas......................... ...................................................................... H. gambianus
Dorsal pelage darker brown-gray; occurs in forests............... ........................................................................ H. punctatus
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