A Five-striped palm squirrel refuses to leave her dead baby. She carried it in her mouth near Deva village in Anand, Gujarat.
The northern palm squirrel (Funambulus pennantii) also called the five-striped palm squirrel is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. Some authorities recognise two subspecies, F. p. pennantii and F. p. argentescens. It is a semi-arboreal species found in tropical and subtropical dry deciduous forest and many other rural and urban habitats. It is a common species with a wide range and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".
Distribution
It is found in the Andaman Islands, Nicobar Islands (where it is introduced), India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Iran. In India, it is fairly common in urban areas, even in large cities such as Delhi and Kolkata. Two subspecies, Funambulus pennantii argentescens and Funambulus pennantii lutescens, were suggested by Wroughton in addition to the nominate race; however, more recent workers do not make this distinction.
Thorington and Hoffman in Wilson and Reeder (2005) listed only two subspecies: F. p. pennantii and F. p. argentescens. However, Ghose et al. (2004) described two additional subspecies: F. p. chhattisgarhi (distribution: eastern part of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal and Bihar) and F. p. gangutrianus (distribution: West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Nepal), but Talmale (2007) treated the Maharashtra populations as F. p. pennantii only due to the overlapping in measurements and colour variations observed in the specimens.
It has also been introduced to Australia where it is found in Perth, Western Australia, establishing from zoo escapees, and a population recorded around Mosman, New South Wales and near Taronga Zoo that may have become extinct. The feral populace, known locally as the five-lined palm squirrel, ranges out to the suburbs surrounding the Perth Zoo and also inhabit the grounds. They give birth over a period from August to May and most intensively around the austral spring and autumn.
In India, the southern boundary of the species' range is not clearly identified, and recent records suggest it may extend as far as Madanapalli. The southern boundary on the Western Ghats side clearly extends to localities including Dharwar and Mysore, in Karnataka.
Habitat
The northern palm squirrel is a very adaptable species. It occurs in tropical and subtropical dry deciduous forest, montane forests to altitudes of 4,000 m (13,123 ft), scrublands, plantations, grasslands, arable land, rural gardens and urban areas.
Status
The northern palm squirrel is a common species throughout most of its wide range. It is an adaptable species and no particular threats have been identified, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".
Extant species of family Sciuridae (subfamily Callosciurinae)
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Callosciurus |
- Ear-spot squirrel (Callosciurus adamsi)
- Kloss's squirrel (Callosciurus albescens)
- Kinabalu squirrel (Callosciurus baluensis)
- Grey-bellied squirrel (Callosciurus caniceps)
- Pallas's squirrel (Callosciurus erythraeus)
- Finlayson's squirrel (Callosciurus finlaysonii)
- Inornate squirrel (Callosciurus inornatus)
- Mentawai squirrel (Callosciurus melanogaster)
- Black-striped squirrel (Callosciurus nigrovittatus)
- Plantain squirrel (Callosciurus notatus)
- Borneo black-banded squirrel (Callosciurus orestes)
- Phayre's squirrel (Callosciurus phayrei)
- Prevost's squirrel (Callosciurus prevostii)
- Irrawaddy squirrel (Callosciurus pygerythrus)
- Anderson's squirrel (Callosciurus quinquestriatus)
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Dremomys (Red-cheeked squirrels) |
- Bornean mountain ground squirrel (Dremomys everetti)
- Red-throated squirrel (Dremomys gularis)
- Orange-bellied Himalayan squirrel (Dremomys lokriah)
- Perny's long-nosed squirrel (Dremomys pernyi)
- Red-hipped squirrel (Dremomys pyrrhomerus)
- Asian red-cheeked squirrel (Dremomys rufigenis)
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Exilisciurus |
- Philippine pygmy squirrel (Exilisciurus concinnus)
- Least pygmy squirrel (Exilisciurus exilis)
- Tufted pygmy squirrel (Exilisciurus whiteheadi)
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Glyphotes |
- Sculptor squirrel (Glyphotes simus)
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Hyosciurus |
- Montane long-nosed squirrel (Hyosciurus heinrichi)
- Lowland long-nosed squirrel (Hyosciurus ileile)
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Lariscus (striped ground squirrels) |
- Four-striped ground squirrel (Lariscus hosei)
- Three-striped ground squirrel (Lariscus insignis)
- Niobe ground squirrel (Lariscus niobe)
- Mentawai three-striped squirrel (Lariscus obscurus)
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Menetes |
- Berdmore's ground squirrel (Menetes berdmorei)
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Nannosciurus |
- Black-eared squirrel (Nannosciurus melanotis)
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Prosciurillus |
- Secretive dwarf squirrel (Prosciurillus abstrusus)
- Whitish dwarf squirrel (Prosciurillus leucomus)
- Celebes dwarf squirrel (Prosciurillus murinus)
- Sanghir squirrel (Prosciurillus rosenbergii)
- Weber's dwarf squirrel (Prosciurillus weberi)
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Rhinosciurus |
- Shrew-faced squirrel (Rhinosciurus laticaudatus)
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Rubrisciurus |
- Red-bellied squirrel (Rubrisciurus rubriventer)
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Sundasciurus |
- Subgenus Aletesciurus: Davao squirrel (Sundasciurus davensis)
- Horse-tailed squirrel (Sundasciurus hippurus)
- Northern Palawan tree squirrel (Sundasciurus juvencus)
- Mindanao squirrel (Sundasciurus mindanensis)
- Culion tree squirrel (Sundasciurus moellendorffi)
- Philippine tree squirrel (Sundasciurus philippinensis)
- Palawan montane squirrel (Sundasciurus rabori)
- Samar squirrel (Sundasciurus samarensis)
- Southern Palawan tree squirrel (Sundasciurus steerii)
- Subgenus Sundasciurus: Brooke's squirrel (Sundasciurus brookei)
- Fraternal squirrel (Sundasciurus fraterculus)
- Jentink's squirrel (Sundasciurus jentinki)
- Low's squirrel (Sundasciurus lowii)
- Slender squirrel (Sundasciurus tenuis)
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Tamiops (Asiatic striped squirrels) |
- Himalayan striped squirrel (Tamiops mcclellandii)
- Maritime striped squirrel (Tamiops maritimus)
- Cambodian striped squirrel (Tamiops rodolphii)
- Swinhoe's striped squirrel (Tamiops swinhoei)
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Funambulus |
- Subgenus Funambulus: Layard's palm squirrel (Funambulus layardi)
- Indian palm squirrel (Funambulus palmarum)
- Nilgiri palm squirrel (Funambulus sublineatus)
- Dusky palm squirrel (Funambulus obscurus)
- Jungle palm squirrel (Funambulus tristriatus)
- Subgenus Prasadsciurus: Northern palm squirrel (Funambulus pennantii)
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