Layard's palm squirrel or flame-striped jungle squirrel (''Funambulus layardi'') 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 ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. The validity of the subspecies ''F. l. dravidianus'' based on a single

specimen Specimen may refer to: Science and technology * Sample (material), a limited quantity of something which is intended to be similar to and represent a larger amount * Biological specimen or biospecimen, an organic specimen held by a biorepository f ...

from the southern tip of

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 ...

has been questioned, and is probably a juvenile '' F. sublineatus''. Known as මූකලන් ලේනා (''mukalan lena'') in Sinhala.

Distribution

It is endemic to the central highlands of

. Few observations are known out of central hills, such as from

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; , ; , ), historically known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee District and major resort port city of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. Located on the east coast o ...

and Matara districts, but it remains unresolved. It can be seen in

Knuckles mountain range The Dumbara Mountain Range lies in central Sri Lanka, in the Districts of Matale and Kandy. The Sinhalese residents have traditionally referred to the area as ''Dumbara Kanduvetiya'' meaning Mist-laden Mountain Range. Early British surveyors g ...

and other high altitude ranges in western basin of the central hills.

Description

Its head and body length is 12–17 cm, with a 14-cm tail. In color, it is blackish brown with three stripes on its dorsum; the central stripe is broadest and longest with an orange hue in ''F. signatus'', yellow in ''F. layardi''. Its underparts are reddish orange in color, and its snout is small. Tail bushy and blackish brown with some red in it. Some individuals also possess some grizzling appearance on it. Fur is soft, short and dense.

Habitat and ecology

Its natural habitat is subtropical and tropical moist lowland forests or subtropical and tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

. It is a diurnal species as other squirrels of the genus and forage in full daytime. They are found on canopy level in forests, where they spend little time on ground. With night falls, they start to become noisy. The main predators of this little creature are snakes, raptor birds, civets and small cats. Mongooses can be predators when they land on the ground floor.

Diet

Unlike other squirrels, they are slightly omnivores that eat fruits, young shoots, nuts and also insects when herbivore diets scarce.

Reproduction

They live as a pair until death, so pair-bonding is high. About 3 offspring are produced per time within a nest made by grass, leaves and fiber plant parts in forest canopy. Breeding season is change with the rainy seasons.

Conservation

They are protected under the law and strictly prohibited of catching and hunting. But logging, and

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

are the major threats for their lives. The population is declining in each year.

References

Funambulus Mammals of Sri Lanka Mammals described in 1849 Taxa named by Edward Blyth Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Squirrel-stub