Heliosciurus, or sun squirrels, is a genus of squirrel in the subfamily Xerinae and the tribe Protoxerini, found only in sub-Saharan Africa. Its common name is thought to come from either its habit of basking in the sun on tree branches or the use of its tail as a sunshade. The genus contains six species, the Gambian sun squirrel, the mutable sun squirrel, the small sun squirrel, the red legged sun squirrel, the Ruwenzori sun squirrel and the Zanj sun squirrel, all endemic to sub-Saharan Africa. Sun squirrels have been implicated in spreading human monkeypox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Classification
Living or Extinct Taxonomic Rank In the Other Atlases
- Also in Geography Atlas: Africa, found in there.
Sources
1. Heliosciurus (Wikipedia)
Introduction
Sun squirrels (genus Heliosciurus), form a taxon of squirrels under the subfamily Xerinae and the tribe Protoxerini.
- Taxonomic rank (structure-wave classification, ruling 761/926)
- present tense, six species listed found in sub-Saharan Africa
View the SourceWikidata: Heliosciurus
Wikidata Q946918, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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