The Mexican gray squirrel (or red-bellied squirrel) (''Sciurus aureogaster'') is a

tree squirrel Tree squirrels are the members of the squirrel family (Sciuridae) commonly just referred to as "squirrels." They include more than 100 arboreal species native to all continents except Antarctica and Oceania. They do not form a single natural, o ...

in the genus ''

Sciurus The genus ''Sciurus'' contains most of the common, bushy-tailed squirrels in North America, Europe, temperate Asia, Central America and South America. Species The number of species in the genus is subject to change. In 2005, Thorington & Hoff ...

'' native to

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

and eastern and southern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. It has been introduced to the

Florida Keys The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago located off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and e ...

. The alternate name should not be confused with the

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

red-bellied squirrel The red-bellied squirrel or Sulawesi giant squirrel (''Rubrisciurus rubriventer'') is a species of squirrel. Until recently, it was described as a species in the genus '' Callosciurus'', but since the 1990s it is generally placed in its own gen ...

(''Rubrisciurus rubriventer'') or the Asian

red-bellied tree squirrel Pallas's squirrel (''Callosciurus erythraeus''), also known as the red-bellied tree squirrel, is a species of squirrel native to Greater China, India, and Southeast Asia. Description Pallas's squirrel is a medium-sized tree squirrel, with ...

(''Callosciurus erythraeus'').

Behaviour

Since the introduction of the species to Florida in the late 1930s, its nesting locations have become more irregular, nesting in varying species of trees and even choosing to nest in hurricane debris.

Ecology

''Sciurus aureogaster'' has had an extremely negative impact on ''

Thrinax radiata ''Thrinax radiata'', also known as the Florida thatch palm, is a medium to slow growing palm in the family Arecaceae. It is native to many Caribbean islands, Mexico, Central America, and far southern Florida. Its natural habitat is sandy, calcare ...

'' populations on Elliot Key. It uses palm fibers as nesting materials and consumes the palm itself, often killing the plant.

Subspecies

The two subspecies each have many synonyms associated with them: * The subspecies ''S. a. aureogaster'' was also known as ''S. a. chrysogaster'', ''S. a. ferruginiventris'', ''S. a. hypopyrrhus'', ''S. a. hypoxanthus'', ''S. a. leucogaster'', ''S. a. maurus'', ''S. a. morio'', ''S. a. mustelinus'', ''S. a. raviventer'' and ''S. a. rufiventris''. * The subspecies ''S. a. nigrescens'' was also known as ''S. a. affinis'', ''S. a. albipes'', ''S. a. cervicalis'', ''S. a. chiapensis'', ''S. a. cocos'', ''S. a. colimensis'', ''S. a. effugius'', ''S. a. frumentor'', ''S. a. griseoflavus'', ''S. a. hernandezi'', ''S. a. hirtus'', ''S. a. leucops'', ''S. a. littoralis'', ''S. a. nelsoni'', ''S. a. nemoralis'', ''S. a. perigrinator'', ''S. a. poliopus'', ''S. a. quercinus'', ''S. a. rufipes'', ''S. a. senex'', ''S. a. socialis'', ''S. a. tepicanus'', ''S. a. varius'' and ''S. a. wagneri''.

References

External links

Photos of Mexican Gray squirrels in Parque de Los Berros
— ''park in Xalapa, Veracruz state, Mexico.'' Mexican gray Rodents of Central America Mammals of Mexico Rodents of North America

Mexican gray squirrel The Mexican gray squirrel (or red-bellied squirrel) (''Sciurus aureogaster'') is a tree squirrel in the genus ''Sciurus'' native to Guatemala and eastern and southern Mexico. It has been introduced to the Florida Keys. The alternate name shou ...

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