Japanese squirrel
The Japanese squirrel (Sciurus lis) is a tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus endemic to Japan. It was described by Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck in 1844. The Japanese squirrel's range includes the islands of Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū. Recently, populations on south-western Honshū and Shikoku decreased, and those on Kyūshū disappeared. One of the factors affecting the local extinction of this species seems to be forest fragmentation by humans.
| Japanese squirrel | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Sciuridae |
| Genus: | Sciurus |
| Species: | S. lis |
| Binomial name | |
| Sciurus lis | |
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| Japanese squirrel's range | |
In certain areas, up to 35% of its diet can come from walnuts. It is possible the resulting dispersion has affected the evolution of larger seed sizes among Japanese walnut populations where Japanese squirrels are present.[3][4]
References
- Ishii, N. & Kaneko, Y. (2008). "Sciurus lis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008. Retrieved 6 January 2009.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Thorington, R.W. Jr.; Hoffmann, R.S. (2005). "Sciurus (Sciurus) lis". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: a taxonomic and geographic reference (3rd ed.). The Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 754–818. ISBN 0-8018-8221-4. OCLC 26158608.
- Tamura, Noriko. “Population Differences and Learning Effects in Walnut Feeding Technique by the Japanese Squirrel.” Journal of Ethology 29.2 (2011): 351–363. Web.
- Tamura, N. and Hayashi, F. (2008), Geographic variation in walnut seed size correlates with hoarding behaviour of two rodent species. Ecol. Res., 23: 607-614. doi:10.1007/s11284-007-0414-8
External links
Media related to Sciurus lis at Wikimedia Commons
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