Sciuridae Fischer de Waldheim 1817
Creators: name: Wilson, Don E.
name: Reeder, DeeAnn
Publisher: name: The Johns Hopkins University Press
Year: 2005
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Rodentia
Sciuridae

description: Sciuridae Fischer de Waldheim 1817
Sciuridae Fischer de Waldheim 1817, Adversaria Zoologica: 408.
Genera: 51 genera with 278 species in 5 subfamilies and 5 tribes:
Subfamily Ratufinae Moore 1959
Genus Ratufa Gray 1867 (4 species with 26 subspecies)
Subfamily Sciurillinae Moore 1959
Genus Sciurillus Thomas 1914 (1 species with 3 subspecies)
Subfamily Sciurinae Fischer de Waldheim 1817
Tribe Sciurini Fischer de Waldheim 1817
Genus Microsciurus J. A. Allen 1895 (4 species with 17 subspecies)
Genus Rheithrosciurus Gray 1867 (1 species)
Genus Sciurus Linnaeus 1758 (28 species with 145 subspecies)
Genus Syntheosciurus Bangs 1902 (1 species)
Genus Tamiasciurus Trouessart 1880 (3 species with 26 subspecies)
Tribe Pteromyini Brandt 1855
Genus Aeretes G. M. Allen 1940 (1 species with 2 subspecies)
Genus Aeromys Robinson and Kloss 1915 (2 species with 2 subspecies)
Genus Belomys Thomas 1908 (1 species with 2 subspecies)
Genus Biswamoyopterus Saha 1981 (1 species)
Genus Eoglaucomys A. H. Howell 1915 (1 species with 2 subspecies)
Genus Eupetaurus Thomas 1888 (1 species)
Genus Glaucomys Thomas 1908 (2 species with 36 subspecies)
Genus Hylopetes Thomas 1908 (9 species with 9 subspecies)
Genus Iomys Thomas 1908 (2 species with 4 subspecies)
Genus Petaurillus Thomas 1908 (3 species)
Genus Petaurista Link 1795 (8 species with 43 subspecies)
Genus Petinomys Thomas 1908 (9 species)
Genus Pteromys G. Cuvier 1800 (2 species with 4 subspecies)
Genus Pteromyscus Thomas 1908 (1 species with 2 subspecies)
Genus Trogopterus Heude 1898 (1 species)
Subfamily Callosciurinae Pocock 1923
Genus Callosciurus Gray 1867 (15 species with 75 subspecies)
Genus Dremomys Heude 1898 (6 species with 18 subspecies)
Genus Exilisciurus Moore 1958 (3 species)
Genus Funambulus Lesson 1835 (5 species with 11 subspecies)
Genus Glyphotes Thomas 1898 (1 species)
Genus Hyosciurus Archbold and Tate 1935 (2 species)
Genus Lariscus Thomas and Wroughton 1909 (4 species with 10 subspecies)
Genus Menetes Thomas 1908 (1 species with 7 subspecies)
Genus Nannosciurus Trouessart 1880 (1 species with 4 subspecies)
Genus Prosciurillus Ellerman 1947 (5 species with 7 subspecies)
Genus Rhinosciurus Blyth 1856 (1 species with 3 subspecies)
Genus Rubrisciurus Ellerman 1954 (1 species)
Genus Sundasciurus Moore 1958 (15 species with 17 subspecies)
Genus Tamiops J. A. Allen 1906 (4 species with 16 subspecies)
Subfamily Xerinae Osborn 1910
Tribe Xerini Osborn 1910
Genus Atlantoxerus Forsyth Major 1893 (1 species)
Genus Spermophilopsis Blasius 1884 (1 species with 3 subspecies)
Genus Xerus Hemprich and Ehrenberg 1833 (4 species with 14 subspecies)
Tribe Protoxerini Moore 1959
Genus Epixerus Thomas 1909 (1 species with 3 subspecies)
Genus Funisciurus Trouessart 1880 (9 species with 24 subspecies)
Genus Heliosciurus Trouessart 1880 (6 species with 49 subspecies)
Genus Myosciurus Thomas 1909 (1 species)
Genus Paraxerus Forsyth Major 1893 (11 species with 35 subspecies)
Genus Protoxerus Forsyth Major 1893 (2 species with 14 subspecies)
Tribe Marmotini Pocock 1923
Genus Ammospermophilus Merriam 1892 (5 species with 11 subspecies)
Genus Cynomys Rafinesque 1817 (5 species with 4 subspecies)
Genus Marmota Blumenbach 1779 (14 species with 33 subspecies)
Genus Sciurotamias Miller 1901 (2 species with 2 subspecies)
Genus Spermophilus F. Cuvier 1825 (41 species with 105 subspecies)
Genus Tamias Illiger 1811 (25 species with 91 subspecies)
Discussion: Ellerman (1940) reviewed the history of sciurid classification. The first modern classification (Pocock, 1923) recognized six subfamilies: Sciurinae, Tamiasciurinae, Funambulinae, Callosciurinae, Xerinae, and Marmotinae. We do not accept the use of Nannosciurinae (Forsyth Major, 1895) as a senior synonym for Callosciurinae (Pocock, 1923), as proposed by McKenna and Bell (1997). Simpson (1945) recognized the same taxa, but all at the tribal level. Ellerman (1940) avoided formal designation, but recognized seven "sections" in the Sciurus "group," which often do not conform with the above. Moore (1959) recognized Simpson's six tribes and, in addition, Ratufini and Protoxerini for certain genera that had previously been included in Funambulini. Black (1963) elevated Tamiini to tribal level (previously in Marmotini). Gromov et al. (1965) elevated the ground squirrels to subfamily rank, Marmotinae, which included the tribes Tamiini Black, Otospermophilini Gromov, Citellini Gromov, Marmotini Simpson (part), and Cynomyini Gromov. He also recognized the subfamilies Xerinae and Sciurinae, but did not treat any other groups. Heaney (1985) recommended that the subtribe Hyosciurina of Moore (1959) be discarded because it lacks defining characters, and that the component genera (Hyosciurus, Prosciurillus, Rubisciurus, and Exilisciurus) be retained in tribe Callosciurini Simpson, 1945. Emry and Thorington (1984) submerged Tamiasciurini in Sciurini and Tamiini in Marmotini. They also (1982) described the oldest known sciurid, Douglassciurus (formerly Protosciurus), which they interpreted as an arboreal form similar to Sciurus from which both flying squirrels and ground squirrels have been derived. These authors treated flying squirrels as a monophyletic sister group to other squirrels, either as a family (Pocock, 1923) or subfamily (other authors). The monophyly of flying squirrels has been both supported (Thorington, 1984) and questioned (Hight et al., 1974). A catalogue of Indian sciurids was presented by Agrawal and Chakraborty (1979). Molecular studies (Mercer and Roth, 2003; Steppan et al., 2004) force a revision of the higher level systematic arrangement of the Sciuridae, which is adopted here.
description: Published as part of Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Rodentia - Family Sciuridae, pp. 754-818 in Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 2, Baltimore :The Johns Hopkins University Press on page 754, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7316535