The Père David's rock squirrel (''Sciurotamias davidianus''), also known as the Chinese rock squirrel, is a species of

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal specie ...

in the family

Sciuridae Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae (), a family that includes small or medium-sized rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrel ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, where it is found widely in rocky habitats in the eastern and central parts of the country. This largely

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth, as opposed to extraterrestrial. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on o ...

squirrel is overall dull

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...

-grey with paler underparts, a distinct pale eye-ring and a dark patch on the cheeks. It has sometimes been confused with the rather different –but in colour very variable–

Pallas's squirrel Pallas's squirrel (''Callosciurus erythraeus''), also known as the red-bellied tree squirrel, is a species of squirrel native to China, Taiwan, India, and Southeast Asia. Description Pallas's squirrel is a medium-sized tree squirrel, with a ...

; an introduced population in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

was first mistakenly identified as Père David's rock squirrel.

References

Rodents of China Sciurotamias Mammals described in 1867 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Alphonse Milne-Edwards {{ground-squirrel-stub