The Andean squirrel (''Sciurus pucheranii'') is a

tree squirrel Tree squirrels are the members of the squirrel family (Sciuridae) commonly just referred to as "squirrels." They include more than 100 arboreal species native to all continents except Antarctica and Oceania. They do not form a single natural, o ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found els ...

to Colombia where it inhabits montane rain forest and

cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud ...

s of the Cordillera Occidental and

Cordillera Central Central Cordillera refers to the New Guinea Highlands. Cordillera Central, meaning ''central range'' in Spanish, may refer to the following mountain ranges: * Cordillera Central, Andes (disambiguation), several mountain ranges in South America ** ...

ranges of the Colombian

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

, at elevations between . It is a small species with a body length of about and a similar length tail. It has soft, silky, reddish-brown fur, a darker tail and yellowish-grey underparts. It is thought to be diurnal but has been little studied, and the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natur ...

has rated its conservation status as being

data deficient A data deficient (DD) species is one which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as offering insufficient information for a proper assessment of conservation status to be made. This does not necessarily ...

Description

The Andean squirrel is a typical tree squirrel, in its general proportions resembling the

Eastern grey squirrel The eastern gray squirrel (''Sciurus carolinensis''), also known, particularly outside of North America, as simply the grey squirrel, is a tree squirrel in the genus ''Sciurus''. It is native to eastern North America, where it is the most prodi ...

of North America. However, it is much smaller, with a body length of only about , and a tail. Although there are few records of its weight, it appears to be generally between about . It has soft, silky, reddish-brown fur over most of the body, merging to greyish-yellow on the underparts. The tail fur is darker than that on the body, and some Andean squirrels also have a distinctive dark stripe down their flanks, and/or a black patch on the back of the head. Females have six

teat A teat is the projection from the mammary glands of mammals from which milk flows or is ejected for the purpose of feeding young. In many mammals the teat projects from the udder. The number of teats varies by mammalian species and often corr ...

Distribution and habitat

It inhabits montane rain forest and

s of the Cordillera Occidental and

of the Colombian

, at elevations between . As a tree squirrel, it lives among ''

Cecropia ''Cecropia'' is a Neotropical genus consisting of 61 recognized species with a highly distinctive lineage of dioecious trees. The genus consists of pioneer trees in the more or less humid parts of the Neotropics, with the majority of the speci ...

'' trees, palms, and

tree fern The tree ferns are arborescent (tree-like) ferns that grow with a trunk elevating the fronds above ground level, making them trees. Many extant tree ferns are members of the order Cyatheales, to which belong the families Cyatheaceae (scaly tre ...

s. It is believed to be diurnal, but sufficiently little is known about its habits, population, and habitat requirements, that it is currently listed as

by the IUCN.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1769574 Sciurus Endemic fauna of Colombia Mammals of Colombia Mammals of the Andes squirrel, Andean Mammals described in 1867 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot