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Black squirrels are a melanistic subgroup of squirrels with black coloration on their fur. The phenomenon occurs with several species of squirrels, although it is most frequent with the eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) and the fox squirrel (Sciurus niger). Black morphs of the eastern gray and fox squirrels are the result of a ...
Its skull is also distinctive, being longer and flatter than most squirrels. The animal's dorsum is predominantly brown with a reddish tone, and it has unusually hairy ears with large red to dark brown tufts. A longitudinal stripe of a white to buff to yellow colour, sometimes accompanied by a dark brown stripe, runs along the flank. [2] [3]
Franklin's ground squirrel was first described by Joseph Sabine in 1822, who named it in honor of the British Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin. [3] It was formerly placed in the large ground squirrel genus Spermophilus, in its own subgenus, Poliocitellus, [4] [5] but since DNA sequencing of the cytochrome b gene has shown Spermophilus to be paraphyletic it is now placed in its own genus.
Abert's squirrels are 46–58 cm long with a tail of 19–25 cm. They are easily recognized by their long ear tufts, which extend up from each ear 2–3 cm. This gives this species a striking similarity to the Eurasian red squirrel, aside from its differing dark coloration. Abert's squirrels vary in color across their range.
Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae (/ s ɪ ˈ j uː r ɪ d eɪ,-d iː /), a family that includes small or medium-sized rodents.The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels.
Douglas squirrels are active by day, throughout the year, often chattering noisily at intruders. On summer nights, they sleep in ball-shaped nests that they make in the trees, but in the winter they use holes in trees as nests. Groups of squirrels seen together during the summer are likely to be juveniles from a single litter.
The sharing of nests in winter by northern flying squirrels is important in maintaining body temperature (biothermal regulation), as northern flying squirrels do not hibernate, nor do they enter torpor states. Northern flying squirrels gliding distances tend to be between 5 and 25 metres, though glides of up to 45 m and longer have been observed.
The fox squirrel (Sciurus niger), also known as the eastern fox squirrel or Bryant's fox squirrel, [3] is the largest species of tree squirrel native to North America.It is sometimes mistaken for the American red squirrel or eastern gray squirrel in areas where the species co-exist, though they differ in size and coloration.