Sciurus lis, Temminck, 1844
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6840226 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6818752 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/064D0660-FFEC-ED12-FAFC-F5BFFBCDF1BE |
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treatment provided by |
Diego |
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scientific name |
Sciurus lis |
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Japanese Squirrel
French: Ecureuil du Japon / German: Japan-Eichhérnchen / Spanish: Ardilla de Japén
Taxonomy. Sciurus lis Temminck, 1844 View in CoL ,
“Japan.”
Restricted by G. B. Corbet in 1978
to Honshu, Japan.
This species is monotypic.
Distribution. Honshu and Shikoku Is (Japan); formerly also in Kyushu and Awaji Is, but no recent observations there.
Descriptive notes. Head-body 160-220 mm, tail 130-170 mm; weight 250 310 g. The Japanese Squirrel has brown dorsal pelage that is heavily suffused with
reddish and orange on sides, shoulders, and haunches. Faint white-to-buff eye ring is apparent. Venter is white to buff. Tail is similar in color to dorsum, often with faint black longitudinal lines and light frosting of white to buff. Winter pelage is grayer on dorsum and tail. Chromosomal complement is 2n = 40 and FN = 70.
Habitat. Lowland to subalpine primary and secondary pine (Pinus, Pinaceae) and mixed forests. The Japanese Squirrel occasionally occurs in suburban forests but does not appear to be able to tolerate extensive human presence or deforestation.
Food and Feeding. The Japanese Squirrel is primarily herbivorous; it specializes on tree seeds but also eats buds, flowers, herbs, and fruits. Insects, bird eggs, and epigeous and hypogeous fungi are also consumed when available. It scatterhoards thick-shelled tree seeds such as walnutsto create stores for the period of winter food shortage.
Breeding. Breeding occurs during two major periods: winter (February-March) and late spring-summer (May-June). Males track female reproductive status by olfactory cues and will follow an estrous female on her single day of receptivity during a breeding season. A female can be pursued by as many as six males. Litters of 2-6 young are born into leaf nests, den cavities or burrows after gestation of 39-40 days. Young are weaned within a few weeks of leaving the nest, and they disperse from their natal areas soon afterward.
Activity patterns. The Japanese Squirrel is diurnal and active throughout the year. Activity is distinctly bimodal in summer with early morning and late afternoon-early evening peaks in activity and midday lull. Winter activity is unimodal and focused during relative warmth of midday. During periods of extreme inclement weather, it can enter short periods of torpor in a nest.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Japanese Squirrel constructs spherical dreys of leaves, pine needles, and twigs but also uses cavities in trees and burrows or rock crevices on occasion. Adults are solitary but occasionally nest with other adults, especially in winter. Male home ranges are 4-30 ha; female home ranges are 4-17 ha, with only modest overlap. Home ranges expand in heavily fragmented environments because individuals must incorporate poor-quality marginal habitat. Foraging occurs in all canopy levels, with significant time spent on the ground. Vocalizations by the Japanese Squirrel are not common but are uttered when threatened; short series of chatters and chucks are given with low level of disturbance but escalate to high-pitched whines when significantly alarmed.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The [UCN Red List. Population trend of the Japanese Squirrelis stable.Japan’s Red Data Book lists the Japanese Squirrel as locally threatened in the Chugoku and Kyushu districts, from parts of which it may have been extirpated. Although the Japanese Squirrel was hunted in the past, harvest has been illegal since 1994. Habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, and forest degradation due to disease are major challenges for their conservation. Introduction and spread of Pallas’s Squirrel (Callosciurus erythraeus) has the potential to negatively impact longterm persistence of the Japanese Squirrel.
Bibliography. Corbet (1978), Kataoka & Tamura (2005), Oshida & Yoshida (1997), Tamura (2004), Tamura & Hayashi (2007, 2008), Tamura, Hashimoto & Hayashi (1999), 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.
