Sciurus alleni, Nelson, 1898
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6840226 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6818766 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/064D0660-FFEA-ED17-FFC4-F734F85FF425 |
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treatment provided by |
Diego |
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scientific name |
Sciurus alleni |
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Allen’s Squirrel
French: Ecureuil dAllen / German: Allen-Hérnchen / Spanish: Ardilla de Allen
Taxonomy. Sciurus alleni Nelson, 1898 View in CoL ,
“Monterey, Tamaulipas [=Nuevo Leon],
Mexico.”
This species is monotypic.
Distribution. NE Mexico, in SE Coahuila, S Nuevo Leon, W Tamaulipas, and N San Luis Potosi.
Descriptive notes. Head-body 220-254 mm (males) and 220-254 mm (females), tail 217-247 mm (males) and 217-247 mm (females); weight 290-491 g
(males) and 345-510 g (females). Allen’s Squirrel has gray-brown dorsum, suffused with yellow and grizzled with black and gray. Head is slightly darker, with conspicuous white-to-buff eye ring. Sides are shade paler, and legs are grizzled black, suffused with white to buff. Venter is white. Tail is black, sometimes suffused with faint buff or tan and frosted with white. Melanism occurs occasionally.
Habitat. Oak (Quercus, Fagaceae) and oak-pine (Pinus, Pinaceae) forests in montane and coastal plains.
Food and Feeding. Allen’s Squirrel forages on the ground and in the canopy, feeding principally on tree seeds and hypogeous fungi but will also opportunistically eat insects, avian nestlings, and anurans. It will also feed on agricultural crops including corn, oats, apples, tomatoes, peaches, mangos, grapes, and plums.
Breeding. Pregnancy and lactation have been reported in all months but appear most common in late spring. Litter sizes are 1-4 young.
Activity patterns. Allen’s Squirrels are diurnal and active throughout the year.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Allen’s Squirrels live in natural cavities in trees or dreys of pine needles, leaves, and sticks above 3 m high in the canopy. Individuals usually forage alone and are rarely seen interacting with others at concentrated food sources. Foraging occurs in all canopylevels, with significant time spent on the ground. Allen’s Squirrels rarely vocalize, but when threatened, they utter an alarm call that is a series of chatters and chucks.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Population trend of Allen’s Squirrel is decreasing. A near complete lack of information on ecology, natural history, or threats likely impedes conservation and management efforts; it appears to be vulnerable to deforestation. This large-bodied squirrel is hunted for food or to reduce damage to agricultural crops.
Bibliography. Best (1995¢), Ceballos (2014), Guevara (1998), Jimenez-Guzman & Guerrero-Vazquez (1992), Leopold (1959), Mercado (1985), 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.
