the life of squirrel //(ලේන්නුන්ගේ ජිවිකාව)👍26 April 2023
Channel: Dinesh vlogs sl
Date: 27/04/2023

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squirrel, (family Sciuridae), generally, any of the 50 genera and 268 species of rodents whose common name is derived from the Greek skiouros, meaning “shade tail,” which describes one of the most conspicuous and recognizable features of these small mammals. These distinctive animals occupy a range of ecological niches worldwide virtually anywhere there is vegetation. The squirrel family includes ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots, prairie dogs, and flying squirrels, but to most people squirrel refers to the 122 species of tree squirrels, which belong to 22 genera of the subfamily Sciurinae. The North American gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) has adapted to urban and suburban areas where it is regarded as aesthetic or as a minor annoyance. In northern Europe the red squirrel (S. vulgaris) is valued for its soft, thick fur. Villagers in tropical forests keep squirrels as pets. Most species are hunted for food.

Related Topics: 

ground squirrel flying squirrel Neotamias Eutamias tree squirrel

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General features

Tree squirrels have slender, lanky bodies, long, muscular limbs, and furred feet. The forefeet have four long digits plus a short, stubby thumb, and the five-toed hind feet are narrow or moderately wide. The bald soles of the feet take the form of prominent, fleshy pads. Because the ankle joints are flexible and can be rotated, squirrels can rapidly descend trees headfirst with the hind feet splayed flat against the trunk. Their large, bright eyes convey an alert demeanour, and the broad, short head tapers to a blunt muzzle adorned with long whiskers. The rounded ears, small in relation to body size, are densely covered with short, fine hairs, which form a long tuft at the tips of the ears in some species. The tail is about as long as head and body or appreciably longer. Furred from base to tip, the tail appears bushy and cylindrical when the hairs grow evenly around the tail; the tail appears flatter if the fur originates only from opposite sides. Claws are large, strong, curved, and very sharp, which enables tree squirrels to navigate vertical surfaces and slim branches.

Variation in body size is considerable. Largest are the four species of Oriental giant squirrels (genus Ratufa) native to the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. Weighing 1.5 to 3 kg (3 to almost 7 pounds), it has a body length of 25 to 46 cm (about 10 to 18 inches) and a tail about as long. Two species of pygmy squirrels are the smallest: the neotropical pygmy squirrel (Sciurillus pusillus) of the Amazon Basin weighs 33 to 45 grams (1 to 1.5 ounces), with a body 9 to 12 cm long and an equally long tail; but the African pygmy squirrel (Myosciurus pumilio) of the West African tropical forests is even smaller, at 13 to 20 grams, with a body length of 6 to 8 cm and a somewhat shorter tail.

Squirrels’ soft, dense fur is moderately long in most species but can be very long and almost shaggy in some. Colour is extraordinarily variable. Some species are plain, covered in one or two solid shades of brown or gray. A few species are striped along the sides and back; sometimes the head is also striped. Tropical species exhibit combinations of white, gray, yellow, orange, red, maroon, brown, and black, yielding a variety of complex coat patterns

                                                            marmot, (genus Marmota), any of 14 species of giant ground squirrels found primarily in North America and Eurasia. These rodents are large and heavy, weighing 3 to 7 kg (6.6 to 15.4 pounds), depending upon the species. Marmots are well suited for life in cold environments and have small fur-covered ears, short, stocky legs, and strong claws for digging. Length of the bulky body is 30 to 60 cm (11.8 to 23.6 inches), and the short, bushy tail is 10 to 25 cm long. Their long, thick fur is slightly coarse and may be yellowish brown (usually frosted with buff white), brown, reddish brown, black, or a mixture of gray and white.

yellow-bellied marmot

Marmots are found north of Mexico and in Eurasia from the European Alps through north-central Asia, the Himalayas, and northeastern Siberia to the Kamchatka Peninsula. They inhabit open country in mountains and plains, preferring montane meadows, steppes, tundra, and forest edges. All live in burrows that they excavate, and most mountain species construct burrows beneath boulder fields, rocky slopes, and crevices in cliff faces. This terrain provides protection from predators such as grizzly bears, which are aggressive diggers and a significant predator of the Alaska marmot (Marmota broweri) in the Brooks Range. 

mountain tiger:-https://youtu.be/SIHPocooMvw

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