Sun squirrel

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Sun squirrels
Fossil range: Late Pleistocene to Recent

Heliosciurus gambianus

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Sciuridae
Subfamily:	Xerinae
Tribe:	Protoxerini
Genus:	Heliosciurus Trouessart, 1880

Species

Sun squirrels (genus Heliosciurus), form a taxon of squirrels under the subfamily Xerinae and the tribe Protoxerini. They are only found in sub-Saharan Africa.

The habit of basking in the sun on tree branches probably gave this group its common name.

Sun squirrels have been implicated in the spread of human monkeypox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

There are 5 species in the genus:

[edit] References

Nowak, Ronald M. (1999), Walker's Mammals of the World, 6th edition, Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp 1281-1282.
http://www.squirrels.org/names.html

v • d • e

Extant species of family Sciuridae (subfamily Xerinae)

Kingdom: Animalia · Phylum: Chordata · Class: Mammalia · Order: Rodentia · Suborder: Sciuromorpha

Xerini
(Spiny squirrels)

Atlantoxerus	Barbary Ground Squirrel (Atlantoxerus getulus)

Xerus (African ground squirrels)	Subgenus Euxerus: Striped Ground Squirrel (Xerus erythropus) Subgenus Geosciurus: Cape Ground Squirrel (Xerus inauris) · Mountain Ground Squirrel (Xerus princeps) Subgenus Xerus: Unstriped Ground Squirrel (Xerus rutilus)

Spermophilopsis	Long-clawed Ground Squirrel (Spermophilopsis leptodactylus)

Protoxerini

Epixerus	Ebian's Palm Squirrel (Epixerus ebii) · Baifran Palm Squirrel (Epixerus wilsoni)

Funisciurus (African striped squirrels)	Thomas's Rope Squirrel (Funisciurus anerythrus) · Lunda Rope Squirrel (Funisciurus bayonii) · Carruther's Mountain Squirrel (Funisciurus carruthersi) · Funisciurus congricus · Lady Burton's Rope Squirrel (Funisciurus isabella) · Ribboned Rope Squirrel (Funisciurus lemniscatus) · Red-cheeked Rope Squirrel (Funisciurus leucogenys) · Funisciurus pyrrhopus · Kintampo Rope Squirrel (Funisciurus substriatus)

Heliosciurus (Sun squirrels)	Gambian Sun Squirrel (Heliosciurus gambianus) · Mutable Sun Squirrel (Heliosciurus mutabilis) · Red-legged Sun Squirrel (Heliosciurus rufobrachium) · Ruwenzori Sun Squirrel (Heliosciurus ruwenzorii) · Zanj Sun Squirrel (Heliosciurus undulatus)

Myosciurus	African Pygmy Squirrel (Myosciurus pumilio)

Paraxerus (African bush squirrels)	Smith's Bush Squirrel (Paraxerus cepapi) · African Red Bush Squirrel (Paraxerus luciferus) · Alexander's Bush Squirrel (Paraxerus alexandri) · Boehm's Bush Squirrel (Paraxerus boehmi) · Cooper's Green Squirrel (Paraxerus cooperi) · Fernando Po Squirrel (Paraxerus poensis) · Huet's Bush Squirrel (Paraxerus ochraceus) · Red Bush Squirrel (Paraxerus palliatus) · Striped Bush Squirrel (Paraxerus flavovittis) · Swynnerton's Bush Squirrel (Paraxerus vexillarius) · Vincent's Bush Squirrel (Paraxerus vincenti)

Protoxerus (African giant squirrels)	Slender-tailed Squirrel (Protoxerus aubinnii) · Forest Giant Squirrel (Protoxerus stangeri)