Heliosciurus rufobrachium (Waterhouse, 1842)
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6840226 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6819057 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/064D0660-FFBB-ED47-FAC3-F80CFE2CFE8E |
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treatment provided by |
Diego |
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scientific name |
Heliosciurus rufobrachium |
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Red-legged Sun Squirrel
Heliosciurus rufobrachium View in CoL
French: Ecureuil de Waterhouse / German: RotfuRsonnenhérnchen / Spanish: Ardilla sol de patas rojas
Other common names: Isabelline Red-legged Sun Squirrel
Taxonomy. Sciurus rufobrachium Waterhouse, 1842 ,
“Fernando Po,”
Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea.
Twenty-one subspecies are recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution.
H.r.rufobrachiumWaterhouse,1842-—BiokoI.
H.r.arrheniiLonnberg,1917—NorthKivuProvince,DRCongo.
H.r.bengaCabrera.1917—EquatorialGuinea.
H.r.caurinusThomas,1923-Guinea-Bissau.
H.r.coenosusThomas,1909-DRCongo.
H.r:emissusThomas,1923-Nigeria.
H.nhardyiTlıomas,1923-IvoryCoast.
H.r.isabellinusGray,1867-TogotoENigeria.
H.r.keniaeNeumann,1902-WslopeofMtKenya(Kenya).
H.r.leakyiToschi,1946-EKenya,aroundCarissa.
H.nleonensisThomas.1923-SienaLeone.
H.r.lualabaeThomas,1923—DRCongo.
H.rmaculatusTemminck,1853-ESienaLeonetoGhana.
H.r.medjianusJ.A.Allen,1922-DRCongo.
H.r.nyansaeNeumann,1902-NyandoRiverValley(WKenya),Rwanda,Burundi,and WTanzania,perhapsextendingintoUganda.
H. r. obfuscatus Thomas, 1923 — SE Nigeria and Mt Cameroon (Cameroon).
H.r.occidentalisMonard,1941—Cutia(Guinea-Bissau)andlikelysurroundingareastoSenegalandGuinea.
H.r.pashaSchwann,1904—DRCongo.
H.r.rubricatusJ.A.Allen,1922—DRCongo.
H. r. semlikii Thomas, 1907 — Semliki River (DR Congo). Precise distributions of subspecies coenosus, lualabae, medjianus, pasha, and rubricatus are unknown, and there may be some degree of distributional overlap.
Descriptive notes. Head—body mean 228-4 mm (males) and 219-1 mm (females), tail 245-8 mm (males) and 240-1 mm (females); weight mean 379-8 g (males) and 360-6 g (females). The Red-legged Sun Squirrel is medium-sized and has dark brown to grayish dorsum, with variable suffusion of red or orange; pale buff eye ring is usually present. Venter is highly variable from pale brown, orange, or red that result in confusion at the subspecific level. Inner and outersides of limbs are bright rusty red, brown, or gray. Tail is noticeably long and thin, with faint rings of buff and black;it is usually held straight out behind rather than curled against back when moving orsitting. Ventral pelage of nominate rufobrachium is perhaps most characteristic, with light rust grading to gray up along sides, but variation among forms is not well defined. Subspecies benga is small, with reddish color extending through tail rather than ending at base. Subspecies caurinus exhibits tannish brown chest, white ventral pelage, and red forearms and inner thighs. Subspecies hardyiis paler than the others, with dull whitish ventral pelage and buff feet. Subspecies isabellinus is very faintly red, and areas that are normally red in other subspecies are replaced with darker color; tail is heavily ringed with black. Subspecies maculatus is dark, with deep red on forearms and inner surfaces of thighs. Subspecies medjianus is uniformly dark, with conspicuous white chest area.
Habitat. Woodlands and forests including mesic lowland evergreen tropical forests, mangrove swamps, and xeric savanna and gallery forest areas. The Red-legged Sun Squirrel tolerates human disturbance and can be found in secondary forests, forested gardens, and cocoa and palm plantations.
Food and Feeding. The Red-legged Sun Squirrel is heavily herbivorous and eats seeds, flowers, fruits, and green vegetation. It also actively forages in crevices among tree branches, roots, and lianas for ants, termites, and caterpillars and explores dead wood to capture insects; large insects are captured with forepaws and then eaten. It follows mixed flocks of insectivorous birds, potentially to increase foraging efficiency and receive increased protection against predators.
Breeding. Female Red-legged Sun Squirrels give birth once or twice a yearto litters of 1-2 young.
Activity patterns. Red-legged Sun Squirrels are diurnal and forage heavily in midand upper canopy. They leave cavity nests and perhaps abandoned termite nests after dawn and return in late afternoon before sunset.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Nests are centers of daily activities and are built inside narrow hollows in trees or large branches and lined with leaves, twigs, or bark. Males and females appear to most frequently nest alone in the wild; however, singles, pairs, and trios are observed during daily activity, and play and allogrooming have been documented. The Red-legged Sun Squirrel is not highly vocal but have a diverse repertoire of calls. Low-intensity alarm call soundslike single or double bark and is repeated 1-3 times. Whine of low-amplitude descending frequency followed by a short quick trill of low-frequency notes is uttered when highly alarmed. Both alarm vocalizations are accompanied by rapid circular tail movements while feet are stamped.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. No data are available on population trends. The Red-legged Sun Squirrel is widely distributed and presumably has large populations. It occurs in protected areas and is tolerant of some habitat modification. There are no major threats, and it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category.
Bibliography. Emmons (1975, 1980, 2013f), Hayssen (2008a), Morse (1970), Rahm (1970a), Rosevear (1969), Thorington et al. (2012).
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.
