The red-bellied squirrel or Sulawesi giant squirrel (''Rubrisciurus rubriventer'') is a species of squirrel. Until recently, it was described as a species in the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

'' Callosciurus'', but since the 1990s it is generally placed in its own genus ''Rubrisciurus''. 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 ...

on the Indonesian island of

Sulawesi Sulawesi ( ), also known as Celebes ( ), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the List of islands by area, world's 11th-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Min ...

, where it is widespread. It has also been found on Sangir Island to the north of Sulawesi. With a length of 25 cm (head and body), it is rather large for a squirrel. It lives in the tree tops of the rainforests of the island.

References

*Thorington, R. W. Jr. and R. S. Hoffman. 2005. Family Sciuridae. pp. 754–818 ''in'' Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder eds. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. Mammals described in 1844 Rodents of Sulawesi Callosciurinae Taxa named by Salomon Müller Taxa named by Hermann Schlegel {{Squirrel-stub