Richmond's squirrel (''Sciurus richmondi'') is a poorly known

tree squirrel Tree squirrels are the members of the squirrel Family (biology), 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 ...

in the genus ''

Sciurus The genus ''Sciurus'' ( or ) contains most of the common, bushy-tailed squirrels in North America, Europe, Temperate zone, temperate Asia, Central America and South America. Species The number of species in the genus is subject to change. In 200 ...

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 ...

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

, which is likely a synonym of the red-tailed squirrel (''Sciurus granatensis''). It is locally known as the ardilla del rama.

Taxonomy

It was first described in 1898 by Nelson based on a series of specimens collected in 1892. Specimens were collected again in 1908 and 1910 by

Joel Asaph Allen Joel Asaph Allen (July 19, 1838 – August 29, 1921) was an American zoology, zoologist, mammalogy, mammalogist, and ornithology, ornithologist. He became the first president of the American Ornithologists' Union, the first curator of birds and ma ...

. No more specimens were then collected until 53 were taken in the 1960s.

Description

Very similar to the ''Sciurus granatensis'' ssp. ''hoffmanni'', but smaller in size, coloured less brightly, and with lighter coloured hairs on the tail. It has a brown back and tail, the tail streaked with tawny yellowish hairs, and an orange abdomen. Females have noticeably wider cheekbones than the males, but are otherwise morphologically identical (aside from the obvious).

Distribution

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 ...

. It has mostly been collected in the lowlands on the Atlantic coast, from the border of Costa Rica to

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

. It is thought to be absent from the Pacific coast, although specimens have been collected near there at the Toro rapids on the Río San Juan near

Lake Nicaragua Lake Nicaragua or Cocibolca or Granada (, , or ) is a freshwater lake in Nicaragua. Of tectonic origin and with an area of , it is the largest fresh water lake in Central America, the List of lakes by area, 19th largest lake in the world (by are ...

Habitat

Its

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest is a habitat (ecology), habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature and is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-roun ...

. It has been collected in trees along streams in pastures, cacao plantations, and secondary woodlands in the 1960s, and possibly old growth forests in the 1890s. It occurs from lowlands to about 1,000m.

Behaviour

It is diurnal and probably solitary. It forages on the ground and in the understory and is seldom seen in the canopy, more often on the trunk and lower branches according to Jones Jr. & Genoways in 1971. The breeding season is long, from at least February to September, and litters of mostly three, sometimes two, young were reported by Jones Jr. & Genoways based on six gravid females. Jones Jr. & Genoways reported that it may moult twice a year.

Similar Species

It is closely related to the ''Sciurus granatensis'' ssp. ''hoffmanni'' which replaces it just across the border with

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

. Genetic studies indicate is likely conspecific with ''S. granatensis'', which has been suspected by most workers on it since it was first named (i.e. Nelson, Allen, Jones Jr. & Genoways, Koprowski & Roth). Deppe's squirrel (''Sciurus deppei'') occurs sympatrically with it throughout its range, although at higher elevations, and is also similarly sized and coloured, and similar in behaviour.

Uses

It is sometimes hunted for food in Nicaragua.

Conservation

Jones Jr. & Genoways in 1971 and Reid in 1997 thought the animal probably rare. Baillie considered the species to be 'Lower Risk/near threatened' for the IUCN red list in 1996. In the latest assessment for the IUCN in 2008 the taxon was given a 'Near Threatened' status as it was thought to have a known extent of occurrence of close to 20,000 km2, and the assessors thought it was possible the population was in decline, likely based on anecdotes from the 1970s. The IUCN stated in 2008 that deforestation is a major threat to this species, likely echoing Jones Jr. & Genoways in 1971.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1769330 Sciurus Rodents of Central America Mammals described in 1898 Taxa named by Edward William Nelson Taxonomy articles created by Polbot