The Protoxerini comprise a
tribe
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confl ...
of
squirrel
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. ...
s found in
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
. The 30 species in six genera are:
[Thorington, R. W. and R. S. Hoffmann. 2005. Family Sciuridae. Pp 754–818 in Mammal Species of the World A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. ]Johns Hopkins University Press
The Johns Hopkins University Press (also referred to as JHU Press or JHUP) is the publishing division of Johns Hopkins University. It was founded in 1878 and is the oldest continuously running university press in the United States. The press publ ...
, Baltimore.
*''
Epixerus'' (
monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...
) - Ebian's palm squirrel
*''
Funisciurus'' (nine species) - African striped squirrels
*''
Heliosciurus'' (six species) - sun squirrels
*''
Myosciurus'' (monotypic) - African pygmy squirrel
*''
Paraxerus'' (11 species) - African bush squirrels
*''
Protoxerus'' (two species) - African giant squirrels
References
Protoxerini
Mammal tribes
{{Squirrel-stub