The northern palm squirrel (''Funambulus pennantii''), also called the five-striped palm squirrel, is a species of

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal specie ...

in the family

Sciuridae Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae (), a family that includes small or medium-sized rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrel ...

. Some authorities recognize two

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

, ''F. p. pennantii'' and ''F. p. argentescens''. It is a semi-arboreal species found in tropical and subtropical dry deciduous forests and many other rural and urban habitats. It is a common species with a wide range and the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".

Distribution

It is found in the

Andaman Islands The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago, made up of 200 islands, in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a mari ...

Nicobar Islands The Nicobar Islands are an archipelago, archipelagic island chain in the eastern Indian Ocean. They are located in Southeast Asia, northwest of Aceh on Sumatra, and separated from Thailand to the east by the Andaman Sea. Located southeast of t ...

(where it was introduced),

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. In India, it is fairly common in urban areas, even in large cities such as

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

and

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

. Two subspecies, ''Funambulus pennantii argentescens'' and ''Funambulus pennantii lutescens'', were suggested by

Wroughton Wroughton is a large village and civil parish in northeast Wiltshire, England. It is part of the Borough of Swindon and lies along the A4361 road, A4361 between Swindon and Avebury; the road into Swindon crosses the M4 motorway between junc ...

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 color variations observed in the specimens. 304A9537Fivestripedpalmsquirrel

It has also been introduced to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

where it is found in a very limited area and the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

due to the

exotic pet An exotic pet is a pet which is relatively rare or unusual to keep, or is generally thought of as a Wild animal, wild species rather than as a Domesticated animal, domesticated pet. The definition varies by culture, location, and over time—as an ...

trade. In

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Western Australia, there is an established population resulting from zoo escapees, and a population recorded around

Mosman, New South Wales Mosman is a suburb on the Lower North Shore (Sydney), Lower North Shore region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mosman is located 8 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative c ...

and near

Taronga Zoo Taronga Zoo Sydney is a government-run public zoo located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, in the Lower North Shore suburb of Mosman, New South Wales, Mosman, on the shores of Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour. It offers great views of Sydney ...

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 inhabits 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 Madanapalle is a city in Annamayya district and Rajampet Lok Sabha constituency of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a Selection Grade Municipality and largest City in Annamayya District. Madanapalle is headquarters of Madanapalle Man ...

. The southern boundary on the Western Ghats side clearly extends to localities including Dharwar and

Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...

, in

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

Habitat

The northern palm squirrel is a very adaptable species. It occurs in tropical and subtropical dry deciduous forest, montane forests to altitudes of , 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

has rated its conservation status as being of "

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

Disease

These squirrels do not naturally suffer from

foot and mouth disease Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease (HMD) is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that primarily affects even-toed ungulates, including domestic and wild bovids. The virus causes a high fever lasting two to six d ...

. Tewari ''et al.'' 1976 did experimentally infect them and the resulting disease was severe. However no transmission could be induced.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1765033 Funambulus Rodents of Asia Rodents of Oceania Rodents of Australia Rodents of India Rodents of Pakistan Fauna of Iran Mammals of Bangladesh Mammals of Fiji Mammals of Nepal Mammals of Samoa Mammals of Tonga Mammals described in 1905 Taxa named by Robert Charles Wroughton Taxonomy articles created by Polbot