The Nilgiri striped squirrel (''Funambulus sublineatus'') is a

threatened Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensa ...

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 ...

, a small squirrel (Sciuridae) from rainforests in the southern Western Ghats, including the

Nilgiris The Nilgiri Mountains form part of the Western Ghats in northwestern Tamil Nadu, Southern Karnataka, and eastern Kerala in India. They are located at the trijunction of three states and connect the Western Ghats with the Eastern Ghats. At le ...

, in Peninsular India. It formerly included '' Funambulus obscurus'' from Sri Lanka as a subspecies, at which point the English name of the "combined species" also was dusky striped squirrel (a name now restricted to the Sri Lankan species).

Taxonomy

''Funambulus sublineatus'' was scientifically described in 1838. Later it was merged with the Sri Lankan ''obscurus'', then regarded as a subspecies of ''Funambulus sublineatus''. In 2012, a review found that the two were highly distinct and recommended that they should be recognized as separate species.Rajith Dissanayake. 2012
The Nilgiri striped squirrel (''Funambulus sublineatus''), and the dusky striped squirrel (''Funambulus obscurus''), two additions to the endemic mammal fauna of India and Sri Lanka.
''Small Mammal Mail.'' Vol 3(2):6-7

Distribution

The former range of the species, before the taxonomic split, was in both India and Sri Lanka, though the Nilgiri palm squirrel (''F. sublineatus'') is now restricted in distribution to the Western Ghats of India. Very little is known of this squirrel, probably the smallest in the genus weighing about 40g. Its new status as an endemic mammal to India means records need updating. The species is confined to wet humid forests either in the Western Ghats and Nilgiri hills (and surrounding areas such as around Kodaikanal in India)

References

Funambulus Mammals of India Mammals described in 1838 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Squirrel-stub