Northern Amazon red squirrel

The northern Amazon red squirrel, Sciurus igniventris, is a species of squirrel from South America that occurs in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. It is widespread across its distribution and inhabits lowland forests, preferring a diet of nuts with especially thick shells. Two subspecies are recognized, and the fiery squirrel is thought to be a junior synonym of it. It is dark red to rusty orange with black grizzling, bright red or orange paws, a lighter belly, and a very bushy tail with a black base. It is diurnal, primarily inhabits mature rainforests and forages at all levels of the canopy, spending about 10 percent of that time on the ground. It is a specialist eater of large seeds with thick, hard endocarps, especially palm nuts, although insects are also eaten. It is sporadically hunted for food and sometimes captured for sale as an exotic pet. The IUCN considers it a least-concern species, though human logging may fragment its habitat.