Ratufa affinis (Raffles, 1821)
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6840226 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6822963 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/064D0660-FFC8-ED35-FFCD-FC20F9F0F1F3 |
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treatment provided by |
Diego |
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scientific name |
Ratufa affinis |
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Pale Giant Squirrel
French: Ecureuil de Singapour / German: Fahles Riesenhornchen / Spanish: Ardilla gigante pélida
Other common names: Cream-colored Giant Squirrel
Taxonomy. Sciurus affinis Raffles, 1821 ,
“Singapore Island.”
Nine subspecies are recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution.
R.a.affinusR.a.,1821—SThailand,MalayPeninsula,andSingapore.
R.a.bancanaLyon,1906—BangkaI,Indonesia.
R.a.bunguranensisThomas&Hartert,1894—LautandBunguranIsoftheNorthNatunaIs,Indonesia.
R.a.cothurnataLyon,1911—WBorneo(WestKalimantan).
R.a.ephippiumS.Miiller,1838—SEBorneoandLautI,Indonesia.
R.a.hypoleucosHorsfield,1823—Sumatraandadjacentislands(TuangkuI,PiniIandTanahmasaI),Indonesia.
R.a.insignisMiller,1903—RiauIs,Indonesia.
R. a. polia Lyon, 1906 — Belitung I, Indonesia.
Population on Serasan I, one of the South Natuna Is (just off W coast of Borneo) and populations of many islands between Malay Peninsula and E Sumatra are of unknown subspecific affiliation. View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head-body 335-342 mm,tail 409-423 mm; weight 1.1-2 kg. The Pale Giant Squirrel is the only brown giant tree squirrel found on the Sunda Shelf; it is pale on venter with a darker dorsum, especially at midline. The cream to light brown forms are primarily in the populations of peninsular Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore that belong to affinis. Subspecies bunguranensis is generally a light brownish color similar to peninsular forms. Although the light form can be found occasionally, the other subspeciestypically have a cream to white venter with a dark brown to black dorsum to include the tail; limbs and head are grizzled gray often suffused with rust to brown. Most subspecies are unique to specific islands in their distribution. Of the dark subspecies on Kalimantan, ephippium has the darkest dorsal midline with pale ungrizzled cream thighs. Subspecies baramensis has a dark midline with a reddish tinge on the sides.
Habitat. Lowland evergreen broadleaf dipterocarp and lower montane forests across the Sunda Shelf. The Pale Giant Squirrel prefers dense forests with highly connected tree canopies for travel.
Food and Feeding. The Pale Giant Squirrel feeds on seeds and occasionally ingests fruit pulp, bark, sap, nectar, flowers, and leaves. Foraging is almost exclusively arboreal as it rarely descendsto the ground. While eating, the Pale Giant Squirrel allowsits tail to hang down, using tail as a counterbalance, this leavesits forefeet free for manipulating food.
Breeding. There is no information available for this species.
Activity patterns. The Pale Giant Squirrelis diurnal and lives most often 20-40 m up in the canopy, where it constructs a bolus drey of twigs and small branches in the crown of a tree.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. There is no information available for this species.
Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II. Classified as Near Threatened on The IUCN Red List. The Pale Giant Squirrel is widespread throughoutits distribution, but presents a significant declining population trend because of widespread habitat loss through logging and hunting.
Bibliography. Duckworth, Meijaard, Giman & Han (2008a), Payne & Francis (1985), Saiful & Nordin (2004), 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.
