Microsciurus

Microsciurus Temporal range: Recent
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Sciuridae
Tribe:	Sciurini
Genus:	Microsciurus Allen, 1895
Species
Microsciurus alfari Microsciurus flaviventer Microsciurus mimulus Microsciurus santanderensis

Microsciurus^[1] or dwarf squirrels is a genus of squirrels from the tropical regions of Central and South America.

There are four recognized species, however, recent DNA analysis has shown that there is some confusion regarding the traditional classification of the Microsciurus species:^[2]

Genus Microsciurus - dwarf squirrels

• Central American Dwarf Squirrel, Microsciurus alfari Allen, 1895, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Northern Colombia
• Amazon Dwarf Squirrel, Microsciurus flaviventer Gray, 1867, western Amazon basin
• Western Dwarf Squirrel, Microsciurus mimulus Thomas, 1898, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama
• Santander dwarf squirrel, Microsciurus santanderensis Hernández-Camacho, 1957, Central Colombia

With a head and body length of 15 centimetres (5.9 in) and a 12 centimetres (4.7 in) long tail, dwarf squirrels are not as small as their name suggests; they are hardly smaller than the common red or gray squirrels. The Neotropical Pygmy Squirrel, not in this genus, is much smaller than these species. Microsciurus species have gray or brown backs, and white bellies.

All dwarf squirrels in this genus live in tropical rain forests. None of them are endangered, although they are rarely seen, because they are shy and lead hidden lives.

References

1. ^ Thorington, Richard W., Jr.; Hoffman, Robert S. (16 November 2005). "Genus Microsciurus". In Wilson, Don E., and Reeder, DeeAnn M., eds. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols. (2142 pp.). pp. 757-758. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=12400042. 
2. ^ Amori, G., Koprowski, J. & Roth, L. (2008). Microsciurus santanderensis. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 28 March 2010.

Bibliography

• Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999 ISBN 0-8018-5789-9