The Zoochat Photographic Guide to Rodents: part one

Loving the thread so far!

I have pictures of what I think are at least 2 Hylopetes species (I identified them as lepidus and winstoni back then, but I don't know if they're easy to identify) from a bird market in Malang that I will upload this evening.
I also have some dark but decent shots of a Tamiasciurus hudsonicus from Algonquin Provincial Park last year, of which I'm not sure which subspecies they are (haven't found a range map or range description for the many subspecies so far) but which I could also upload if they turn out to be one not represented yet.
 
I looked up my squirrel photos of Costa Rica and found photos of Sciurus granatensis hoffmanni and S. variegatoides rigidus, but as I wrote before, quality is quite poor (I decided to buy a new camera afterwards because of this). I saw two other subspecies of Variegated Squirrel, dorsalis and the non-represented underwoodi, but failed to get a decent photo.

A photo of a Red Squirrel from the forests near Saint Petersburg is now in the gallery. I'm not sure which subspecies of Sciurus vulgaris it is: S. v. fedjushini that lives in the Baltic States or S. v. formosovi from the northwest of Russia.
 
AWP said:
I looked up my squirrel photos of Costa Rica and found photos of Sciurus granatensis hoffmanni and S. variegatoides rigidus, but as I wrote before, quality is quite poor (I decided to buy a new camera afterwards because of this). I saw two other subspecies of Variegated Squirrel, dorsalis and the non-represented underwoodi, but failed to get a decent photo.
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underwoodi is on some range maps for Costa Rica, but other sources don't include it within Costa Rican subspecies at all. I think that tail-end of its range is one of those debatable situations where different authors consider it to be from different subspecies. In the case of it not being included in Costa Rica I think that bit of the country is probably covered as thomasi, or maybe a merging of that and dorsalis.
 
AWP said:
A photo of a Red Squirrel from the forests near Saint Petersburg is now in the gallery. I'm not sure which subspecies of Sciurus vulgaris it is: S. v. fedjushini that lives in the Baltic States or S. v. formosovi from the northwest of Russia.
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This is where the Red Squirrel is tricky (to put it mildly) because there is little agreement on subspecies limits. I've listed the 23 subspecies recognised by Wilson and Reeder, but there is a huge range of opinion on it. If going with the 17-subspecies model, which is also quite common, neither fedjushini or formosovi would be recognised. Then the St. Petersburg animals would probably be S. v. vulgaris, although some would argue that they would be S. v. fuscoater instead because it's right around where the two subspecies meet. And, of course, there are actually no barriers between most of the subspecies, they are just parts of a continuous range with divisions somewhat arbitrarily marked on a map.
 
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Chlidonias said:
Sumatran Flying Squirrel Hylopetes winstoni
Monotypic. Known from only one specimen, and may be conspecific with Hylopetes bartelsi.
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Heh, didn't know this so now my previous post sounds a bit silly! I have no idea how I drew that conclusion in 2016 then. I suppose bartelsi would already make a lot more sense :p

Either way, I have now uploaded the aforementioned pictures to the gallery, though I'm not sure if they'll be useful!
 
Chlidonias said:
underwoodi is on some range maps for Costa Rica, but other sources don't include it within Costa Rican subspecies at all. I think that tail-end of its range is one of those debatable situations where different authors consider it to be from different subspecies. In the case of it not being included in Costa Rica I think that bit of the country is probably covered as thomasi, or maybe a merging of that and dorsalis.
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I used the subspecies map in the mammal field guide of Wainwright to identify the different types of Variegated Squirrel during my trip in Costa Rica.
 
Chlidonias said:
A lot of mammal subspecies are very difficult to find boundaries for. I don't know, for example, if alpinus is restricted to the Pyrenees as some sources would suggest or if it is found across the north of Spain as well - and of course all those other subspecies described for the Iberian Peninsula don't help matters.
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Do you know if all the red squirrels in the Pyrenees are alpinus?
 
Vision said:
Heh, didn't know this so now my previous post sounds a bit silly! I have no idea how I drew that conclusion in 2016 then. I suppose bartelsi would already make a lot more sense :p

Either way, I have now uploaded the aforementioned pictures to the gallery, though I'm not sure if they'll be useful!
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I'll see what I can do with regards to an ID. I'll probably end up just using them as an illustration of the genus, rather than an exact species.
 
Chlidonias said:
The most common treatment now is for 17 subspecies. Wilson and Reeder (Mammal Species of the World) list the following twenty-three subspecies: alpinus, altaicus, anadyrensis, arcticus, balcanicus, chiliensis, cinerea, dulkeiti, exalbidus, fedjushini, formosovi, fuscoater, fusconigricans, leucourus, lilaeus, mantchuricus, martensi, ognevi, orientis, rupestris, ukrainicus, varius, vulgaris
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To complicate matters further, incidentally, the 17-subspecies model synonymises cinerea and fuscoater, but retains the latter name despite the fact that if they are deemed identical this is a junior synonym of the former name :p

So all the mentions of fuscoater in this thread should theoretically say cinerea.
 
Chlidonias said:
Photo by @birdsandbats in the wild, Minnesota (USA) (subspecies minnesota)

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Actually in Wisconsin.
 
TeaLovingDave said:
To complicate matters further, incidentally, the 17-subspecies model synonymises cinerea and fuscoater, but retains the latter name despite the fact that if they are deemed identical this is a junior synonym of the former name :p

So all the mentions of fuscoater in this thread should theoretically say cinerea.
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That's a good point which I overlooked. What I've done is (re)labelled them as "cinerea [fuscoater]". Red Squirrels really are complicated beasts.
 
Chlidonias said:
Eastern Grey Squirrel Sciurus carolinensis
Five subspecies are currently recognised (carolinensis, extimus, fuliginosus, hypophaeus, pennsylvanicus) but they intergrade and may not all be valid. Numerous other subspecies have been recognised in the past.


Photo by @Ituri in the wild, USA (subspecies carolinensis)

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Photo by @Ituri in the wild, USA (South Florida subspecies extimus)

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Photo by @Ituri in the wild, USA (northern subspecies hypophaeus)

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Photo by @Giant Eland in the wild (in the grounds of the Smithsonian National Zoo), USA (subspecies pennsylvanicus)

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Photo by @Newzooboy in the wild, Canada (melanistic form of the subspecies pennsylvanicus (introduced in this locality))

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Are all/most melanisitc Gray Squirrels S.c. pennsylvanicus or do they occur in all subspecies?
 
Chlidonias said:
No, any subspecies. Melanism is very common in squirrels.
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Yes. I see almost as many black squirrels as I do gray squirrels. But I know many melanisitc gray squirrel populations come from introduced individuals, so I wasn't sure.

By the way, I think I now have a picture of a melanisitc S.c. hypophaeus that I could upload if you need more melanistic squirrel pictures.
 
birdsandbats said:
Yes. I see almost as many black squirrels as I do gray squirrels. But I know many melanisitc gray squirrel populations come from introduced individuals, so I wasn't sure.

By the way, I think I now have a picture of a melanisitc S.c. hypophaeus that I could upload if you need more melanistic squirrel pictures.
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No, one melanistic squirrel looks exactly like any other melanistic squirrel of the same species.
 
The subfamily Callosciurinae contains about 70 species in fourteen genera: Callosciurus, Dremomys, Exilisciurus, Funambulus, Glyphotes, Hyosciurus, Lariscus, Menetes, Nannosciurus, Prosciurillus, Rhinosciurus, Rubrisciurus, Sundasciurus, Tamiops.


This subfamily is exclusively Asian in distribution, with the majority of the species coming from southeast Asia. The species total is pretty well established, but even so there are occasional additions due to genetics-based splitting.


There are 36 species depicted here, from nine genera: Callosciurus, Dremomys, Exilisciurus, Funambulus, Lariscus, Menetes, Prosciurillus, Sundasciurus, Tamiops.
 
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Callosciurus
Sixteen species, ten of which are represented in the Zoochat galleries.



Grey-bellied Squirrel Callosciurus caniceps
Six subspecies: adangensis, bimaculatus, caniceps, casensis, concolor, domelicus

A 2024 paper (Lost in synonymy: Integrative species delimitation reveals two unrecognized species of Southern Asian tree squirrels (Rodentia: Sciuridae: Callosciurinae)) split this into two species, the northern C. caniceps and southern C. concolor, both of which are depicted below.


Photo by @LaughingDove in the wild, Thailand (subspecies caniceps)

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Grey-bellied Squirrel - Baan Maka Chalets | ZooChat


Photo by @Chlidonias in the wild, Peninsular Malaysia (subspecies concolor)

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Grey-bellied Squirrel (Callosciurus caniceps) | ZooChat


Red-bellied or Pallas' Squirrel Callosciurus erythraeus
About twenty-six subspecies (but extremely complicated and disputable - it is likely to actually be a species-complex): atrodorsalis, bartoni, bhutanensis, bonhotei, castaneoventris, erythraeus, erythrogaster, flavimanus, gloveri, gordoni, griseimanus, harringtoni, hendeei, hyperythrus, intermedius, michianus, ningpoensis, pranis, rubeculus, shanicus, siamensis, sladeni, styani, thai, thaiwanensis, zimmeensis

Some of the subspecies, in particular flavimanus and griseimanus, should probably be included under C. finlaysonii rather than C. erythraeus. The two species are closely-related and studies of their taxonomic relationships are a complete mess. There is much confusion over validity and distribution of most of the subspecies, and some authors even suggest that no subspecies should be recognised.


Photo by @Chlidonias in the wild, southwest Yunnan (China) (subspecies unclear, but note the distinctive black marking on the tail which all the individuals in this region had)

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Red-bellied Squirrel (Callosciurus erythraeus) - ZooChat


Photo by @Chlidonias in the wild, Kunming (Yunnan, China) (subspecies probably attributable to nominate erythraeus)

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Red-bellied Squirrel (Callosciurus erythraeus) - ZooChat


Photo by @Hix in the wild, Peninsular Malaysia (subspecies rubeculus)

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Red-bellied (Pallas') Squirrel | ZooChat


Photo by @Chlidonias in the wild, Taiwan (subspecies thaiwanensis) - note the distinctive whitish-grey tail which this subspecies has.

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Pallas' Squirrel (Callosciurus erythraeus thaiwanensis) - ZooChat


Variable or Finlayson's Squirrel Callosciurus finlaysonii
At least sixteen subspecies (but extremely complicated and disputable): albivexilli, annellatus, bocourti, boonsongi, cinnamomeus, ferrugineus, finlaysonii, folletti, frandseni, germaini, harmandi, menamicus, nox, sinistralis, trotteri, williamsoni

Taxonomic note: there are suggestions that this may be a species complex. The named subspecies are a complete mess - descriptions of colouration versus distribution often do not match up in the wild, single populations well away from human settlements can contain multiple "subspecies" colourations, and apparently individual squirrels can change colour through the year. The subspecies flavimanus and griseimanus should probably be included under C. finlaysonii rather than C. erythraeus (here I have retained them in the latter species).


The first five photos below were all taken by @Chlidonias in city parks in Bangkok, where pet squirrels from around Thailand are released. The first three are probably all versions of the subspecies C. f. bocourti (Bangkok squirrels are often separated from C. f. bocourti as C. f. floweri but this does not seem justified). The fourth may be one of the northern subspecies which are typically dark red, but it may equally just be a red form of boucourti. The fifth photo, of the all-white squirrel, would be identified as the type-subspecies C. f. finlaysonii (endemic to Si Chang island) if using the Field Guide to the Mammals of South-east Asia by Charles M. Francis, but I suspect white animals can occur in any population.

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Variable Squirrel (Callosciurus finlaysonii) - ZooChat

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Variable Squirrel (Callosciurus finlaysonii) - ZooChat

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Variable Squirrel (Callosciurus finlaysonii) - ZooChat

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Variable Squirrel (Callosciurus finlaysonii) - ZooChat

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Variable Squirrel (Callosciurus finlaysonii) - ZooChat


Photo below by @zoogiraffe at Ponderosa Rural Therapeutic Centre, UK (labelled here and on Zootierliste as being the Pegu (Burma) subspecies ferrugineus, but likely to be the (currently undescribed) Laotian form as depicted in Francis' Field Guide to the Mammals of South-east Asia)

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Pegu Red Squirrel | ZooChat
(Another photo by @devilfish here: Callosciurus (finlaysoni) ferrugineus | ZooChat)


Sunda Black-banded Squirrel Callosciurus nigrovittatus
Four subspecies: bilimitatus, bocki, klossi, nigrovittatus


Photo by @Chlidonias in the wild, Peninsular Malaysia (subspecies bilimitatus)

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Sunda Black-banded Squirrel (Callosciurus nigrovittatus) | ZooChat


Photo by @Rizz Carlton in the wild, Java (Indonesia) (subspecies nigrovittatus)

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Black-striped squirrel (Callosciurus nigrovittatus nigrovittatus) stealing an banana - ZooChat


Plantain Squirrel Callosciurus notatus
Five subspecies: diardii, miniatus, notatus, suffusus, vittatus (plus absolutely masses of synonyms).

Kloss' Squirrel Callosciurus albescens of north Sumatra may also be treated as a subspecies of C. notatus.


Photo by @Chlidonias in the wild (in the grounds of Melaka Zoo), Peninsular Malaysia (subspecies miniatus)

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plantain squirrel (Callosciurus notatus) | ZooChat


Photo by @Sun Bear in the wild, Singapore (subspecies miniatus), showing the belly colour.

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Botanical Gardens | ZooChat


Photo by @Hix in the wild, Brunei (subspecies suffusus)

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Plantain Squirrel | ZooChat


Photo by @LaughingDove in the wild, Sumatra (Indonesia) (subspecies vittatus)

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Plantain Squirrel - ZooChat


Bornean Black-banded Squirrel Callosciurus orestes
Monotypic


Photo by @Chlidonias in the wild, Sabah (Malaysian Borneo)

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Bornean Black-banded Squirrel (Callosciurus orestes) | ZooChat
 
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Phayre's Squirrel Callosciurus phayrei
Monotypic


Photo by @Ding Lingwei in the wild, China

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Phayre's Squirrel (Callosciurus phayrei) - ZooChat


Prevost's Squirrel Callosciurus prevostii
A huge number of subspecies, with over 40 having been named and mostly still in use. I won't list them all here, but you can see all the combinations, plus a distribution map covered in dots representing all the named subspecies here: Callosciurus prevostii (Rodentia: Sciuridae) | Mammalian Species | Oxford Academic


Photo by @ThylacineAlive at Los Angeles Zoo, USA (Bangka subspecies bangkanus)

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Bangka Prevost's Squirrel | ZooChat


Photo by @Jordan-Jaguar97 at Blackpool Zoo, UK (Sarawak subspecies borneoensis)

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Prevosts Squirrel at Blackpool Zoo, 20/02/14 | ZooChat


Photo by @Hix in the wild, Brunei (Brunei subspecies caroli)

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Prevost's Squirrel | ZooChat


Photo by @Chlidonias in the wild, Sabah (Malaysian Borneo) (Sabah subspecies pluto)

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Prevost's squirrel (Callosciurus prevostii) | ZooChat


Photo by @Hix at Zoo Negara, Malaysia (west Peninsular Malaysian subspecies prevostii)

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Prevost's Squirrel | ZooChat


Photo by @Joker1706 at Randers Regnskov Tropical Zoo, Denmark (Sumatran subspecies rafflesi)

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Prevost´s squirrel | ZooChat


Irrawaddy or Hoary-bellied Squirrel Callosciurus pygerythrus
Seven subspecies: blythii, janetta, lokroides, mearsi, owensi, pygerythrus, stevensi


Photo by @Chlidonias in the wild, India (subspecies blythii)

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Irrawaddy or Hoary-bellied Squirrel (Callosciurus pygerythrus) | ZooChat


Photo by @Chlidonias in the wild, Burma (Myanmar) (subspecies janetta)

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Irrawaddy or Hoary-bellied Squirrel (Callosciurus pygerythrus) | ZooChat


Anderson's Squirrel Callosciurus quinquestriatus
Three subspecies named: imarius, quinquestriatus, sylvester

Taxonomic note: the three subspecies are named above in Smith and Xie's Mammals of China but the distribution of this species is so restricted (solely along the Yunnan-Burma border) that it is difficult to see how they could be valid. The distributions of each are given in that work as "Yunnan-Myanmar border region" (imarius), "SW Yunnan" (quinquestriatus), and "W Yunnan" (sylvester).


Photo by @Ding Lingwei in the wild, Yunnan (China)

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Anderson's Squirrel (Callosciurus quinquestriatus) - ZooChat
 
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The remaining species in the genus Callosciurus are not pictured here:


Ear-spot Squirrel Callosciurus adamsi
Monotypic


Kloss' Squirrel Callosciurus albescens
Monotypic (may also be treated as a subspecies of the Plantain Squirrel C. notatus)


Kinabalu Squirrel Callosciurus baluensis
Monotypic


Hon Khoai Squirrel Callosciurus honkhoaiensis
Monotypic. This species was only described in 2018 and is known solely from Hon Khoai Island off south Vietnam.


Inornate Squirrel Callosciurus inornatus
Monotypic


Mentawai Squirrel Callosciurus melanogaster
Three subspecies: atratus, melanogaster, mentawi
 
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