- Sun squirrel
Taxobox
name = Sun squirrels
fossil_range = LatePleistocene to Recent
image_caption = "Heliosciurus gambianus "
regnum =Animal ia
phylum = Chordata
classis =Mammal ia
ordo =Rodent ia
familia =Sciuridae
subfamilia =Xerinae
tribus =Protoxerini
genus = "Heliosciurus"
genus_authority =Trouessart , 1880
subdivision_ranks =Species
subdivision =
* "Heliosciurus ruwenzorii "
* "Heliosciurus gambianus "
* "Heliosciurus rufobrachium "
* "Heliosciurus mutabilis "
* "Heliosciurus undulatus "Sun squirrels (
genus "Heliosciurus"), form a taxon ofsquirrel s under the subfamilyXerinae and the tribeProtoxerini . They are only found in sub-SaharanAfrica .The habit of basking in the sun on tree branches probably gave this group its common name.
Sun squirrels have been implicated in the spread of human
monkeypox in theDemocratic Republic of the Congo .There are 5 species in the genus:
* "Heliosciurus ruwenzorii "
* "Heliosciurus gambianus "
* "Heliosciurus rufobrachium "
* "Heliosciurus mutabilis "
* "Heliosciurus undulatus "References
*Nowak, Ronald M. (1999), "Walker's Mammals of the World", 6th edition,
Baltimore andLondon :The Johns Hopkins University Press , pp 1281-1282.
*http://www.squirrels.org/names.html
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