Forrest's rock squirrel (''Sciurotamias forresti'') is a species of
rodent
Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are n ...
in the family
Sciuridae
Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. Squ ...
. It is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
to
Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
and
Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the C ...
in
China, where it inhabits cliffs covered in shrubby vegetation at an altitude around . Relatively little is known about Forrest's rock squirrel, but its behavior is assumed to resemble that of its more widespread relative,
Père David's rock squirrel.
In appearance, it largely resembles Père David's rock squirrel, but Forrest's rock squirrel is more
ochraceous
Ochre ( ; , ), or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colours produced ...
in colour and has a faint whitish line on the side.
References
External links
Photos of Forrest's rock squirrel
Rodents of China
Sciurotamias
Mammals described in 1922
Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
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