The Irrawaddy squirrel (''Callosciurus pygerythrus'') or hoary-bellied Himalayan squirrel is a species of
rodent
Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are n ...
in the family
Sciuridae
Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. Squ ...
.
Description
Irrawaddy squirrels vary in fur color, some squirrels being greyish-brown and reddish-brown, with some squirrels being grizzled. Some squirrels have dark tips of their tails, and pale hip patches. Its head to body length is about 20 centimeters, and its tail length is about 20 centimeters as well. Irrawaddy squirrels weigh approximately 45 grams.
Distribution
It is native to
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
,
China,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
, and
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...
. Most squirrels that live in Myanmar live west of the
Irrawaddy River. Irrawaddy squirrels can live in a number of types of forests, including deciduous broad-leaved woodland, coniferous evergreen forests, mixed agricultural areas, and secondary growth forests. They can live in lowlands and lower mountainous regions, at around 1500 meters. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Diet
Irrawaddy squirrels mainly eat nuts, seeds, fruits, bark, lichen, and various types of vegetation, however some squirrels may eat insects and small vertebrates.
Gallery
File:Callosciurus pygerythrus Hoary-bellied Himalayan Squirrel Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve West Sikkim India 29.10.2015.jpg, (Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve, West Sikkim, India, 29.10.2015)
File:Hoary-bellied Himalayan Squirrel WLB IMG 0020.jpg
References
Callosciurus
Mammals of India
Mammals of Bangladesh
Mammals described in 1832
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
{{Squirrel-stub