Nannosciurus melanotis
Creators: name: Wilson, Don E.
name: Thomas E. Lacher, Jr
name: Mittermeier, Russell A.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Rodentia
Sciuridae
Nannosciurus
Nannosciurus melanotis

description: 33. Black-eared Squirrel <i>Nannosciurus melanotis</i> <b>French:</b> Ecureuil a oreilles noires / <b>German:</b> SchwarzohrZwerghdrnchen / <b>Spanish:</b> Ardilla de orejas negras <b>Taxonomy.</b> Sciurus melanotis S. Muller, 1840, “Borneo.” Restricted by M. W. Lyon in 1906 and by L. R. Heaney in 1985 toJava. Four subspecies are recognized. <b>Subspecies and Distribution.</b> N.m.melanotisS.Miller,1840—WJava. N.m.bancanusLyon,1906—BangkaI,Indonesia. N.m.borneanusLyon,1906—Borneo,andLautI(offSEBorneo). N. m. pulcher Miller, 1902 — Sumatra and Singkep I (Lingga Archipelago), Indonesia. The population on Belitung I is of uncertain subspecific affinity but is likely to be bancanus. <b>Descriptive notes.</b> Head—body mean 79-6 mm (males) and 79 mm (females), tail mean 62 mm (males) and 70-5 mm (females); weight mean 17 g. Dorsum of the Black-eared Squirrel is plain pale agouti, with a black stripe from nose to eye; a broad bufly stripejust below black stripe extends to a buffy patch behind eye, and a second thin black stripe below buffy stripe extends to mouth. These stripes differentiate the Black-eared Squirrel from species of Exilisciurus. Back of ear and patch of fur just behind it are black. Subspecies melanotis has darker pelage than the other subspecies, dorsum is orange-brown and venteris pale orange-brown. Nape of neck is lighter brown than crown. Subspecies bancanus has yellow brown pelage, a distinct nape patch, and a buffy facial stripe. Subspecies borneanus has yellow brown pelage; a nape patch is present, although darker and less distinctive than pulcher. Facial stripe is whitish and slightly tinged with buffy. Subspecies pulcheris very similar to bancanus, although bancanus has darker pelage. Pelage is yellow brown with a distinct nape patch and whitish facialstripe. <b>Habitat.</b> Lowland dipterocarp forests, up to elevations of ¢.1070 m. <b>Food and Feeding.</b> The Black-eared Squirrel is a bark gleaner. <b>Breeding.</b> There is no information available for this species. <b>Activity patterns.</b> The Black-eared Squirrel is mostly seen on tree trunks and major branches due to its foraging behavior. <b>Movements, Home range and Social organization.</b> There is no information available for this species. <b>Status and Conservation.</b> Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Blackeared Squirrel is widespread and abundant in suitable habitat. Although it prefers primary forest, it is also known to occur in secondary and selectively logged forest. It is threatened by habitat loss due to logging and agricultural conversion, though this is not a major threat. <b>Bibliography.</b> Chasen &amp; Kloss (1928), Francis et al. (2008), Heaney (1985), Hollister (1913b), Lyon (1906), Taylor (1934), Thomas (1898c), Thorington et al. (2012).
description: Published as part of <i>Don E. Wilson, Thomas E. Lacher, Jr &amp; Russell A. Mittermeier, 2016, Sciuridae, pp. 648-837 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 6 Lagomorphs and Rodents I, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions</i> on pages 723-724, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6840226