Pine squirrels are

squirrel 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 ...

s of 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 ...

''Tamiasciurus'', in the

Sciurini Sciurini () is a tribe that includes about forty species of squirrels,Thorington and Hoffmann, 2005, p. 754 mostly from the Americas. It includes five living genera—the American dwarf squirrels, '' Microsciurus''; the Bornean '' Rheithrosc ...

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

, of the large

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

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 ...

Species

This genus includes three species: *''Tamiasciurus douglasii'' —

Douglas squirrel The Douglas squirrel (''Tamiasciurus douglasii'') is a pine squirrel found in western North America, from the Pacific Northwest (including the northwestern coastal states of the United States as well as the southwestern coast of British Columb ...

**''T. d. mearnsi'' — Mearns's squirrel *''Tamiasciurus fremonti'' — southwestern red squirrel **''T. f. grahamensis'' —

Mount Graham red squirrel The Mount Graham red squirrel (''Tamiasciurus fremonti grahamensis'') is an endangered subspecies of the southwestern red squirrel (''Tamiasciurus fremonti'') native to the Pinaleño Mountains of Arizona. It is smaller than most other subspecie ...

*''Tamiasciurus hudsonicus'' —

American red squirrel The American red squirrel (''Tamiasciurus hudsonicus'') is one of three species of tree squirrels currently classified in the genus ''Tamiasciurus'', known as the pine squirrels (the others are the Douglas squirrel, ''T. douglasii'', and the sou ...

All three species are native to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. Pine squirrels can be found in the northern and western

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, most of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

, and northwestern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Description

Pine squirrels, ''Tamiasciurus'' species, are small

tree squirrel Tree squirrels are the members of the squirrel Family (biology), 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 ...

s with bushy tails. Along with members of the genus ''

Sciurus The genus ''Sciurus'' ( or ) contains most of the common, bushy-tailed squirrels in North America, Europe, Temperate zone, temperate Asia, Central America and South America. Species The number of species in the genus is subject to change. In 200 ...

'', they are members of the Sciurini tribe. The name ''Tamiasciurus'' comes from Greek wiktionary:ταμίας ''tamías'' ‘steward, dispenser’ and wiktionary:σκίουρος ''skíouros'' 'squirrel'. The American red squirrel should not be confused with the Eurasian

red squirrel The red squirrel (''Sciurus vulgaris''), also called Eurasian red squirrel, is a species of tree squirrel in the genus ''Sciurus''. It is an arboreal and primarily herbivorous rodent and common throughout Eurasia. Taxonomy There have been ...

(''Sciurus vulgaris'') — both are usually just referred to as the "red squirrel" in their home continents. Pine squirrels rely on a variety of food sources including fungi, plants, arthropods and tree seed.

References

External links

* * Tamiasciurus Rodents of Canada Rodents of the United States Taxa named by Édouard Louis Trouessart {{Squirrel-stub