Zanj sun squirrel

The Zanj sun squirrel (Heliosciurus undulatus) is a rodent of the family Sciuridae found in eastern Africa. It is a large squirrel with a greyish tawny body and a long tail marked with 10 to 14 black bands. Its mean head and body length is 233 millimetres and its mean tail length is 281 millimetres, and colour varies across its range, darkest and richest inland at higher elevations. It occurs in south-eastern Kenya and north-eastern Tanzania, including Mafia Island and Unguja, the main island of Zanzibar, mostly in coastal forests and riverine gallery forest. Little is known of its biology, but it is omnivorous, eating fruits, leaves, seeds, buds and palm dates, with insects important in season. The IUCN lists it as Data Deficient, and its coastal forests are under pressure from agricultural clearance, charcoal burning and logging.