Squirrels - Tree Squirrels, Red Squirrels, Marmots, Prairie Dogs, Ground Squirrels, Antelope Ground Squirrels
species family exclusively america
The squirrel family (Sciuridae) is a diverse group of about 50 genera of rodents, including the "true" or tree squirrels, as well as flying squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots, woodchuck, and prairie dogs. Members of the squirrel family occur in North and South America, Africa, Eurasia, and Southeast Asia, but not in Madagascar, New Guinea, Australia, or New Zealand.
The squirrel family encompasses species that are exclusively arboreal, living in tropical, temperate, or boreal forests. It also includes species that are exclusively terrestrial, living in burrows in the ground in alpine or arctic tundra, semiarid desert, prairie, or forest edges. Most squirrels are diurnal, but a few, such as the flying squirrels, are nocturnal. Most squirrels are largely herbivorous, eating a wide variety of plant tissues. Some species, however, supplement their diet with insects, bird eggs, and nestlings.
The following sections describe most of the major groups in the squirrel family, with an emphasis on species occurring in North America.
Additional Topics
There are about 55 species of tree squirrels in the genus Sciurus, that occur in Asia, Europe, North America, and South America. As their name suggests, tree squirrels are highly arboreal animals, living in forests of all types, from the limits of trees in the north, to the tropics. Tree squirrels have a long, bushy tail, used as a rudder when they are airborne while leaping from branch to branch …
The two species of red squirrel (Tamiasciurus spp.), also known as chickarees and pine squirrels, are widespread arboreal animals occurring in conifer-dominated forests of North America, and to a lesser degree in mixed-wood forests. Red squirrels do not hibernate and are active all winter. However, during bad weather they may sleep for several days in their tree-top nest, usually located in a fork…
Marmots, along with the groundhog, are species of stocky, ground-dwelling animals in the genus Marmota. Marmots live in rocky crevices, or in burrows that they dig in sandy-loam soil. Most marmot species occur in alpine or arctic tundra, or in open forests of North America or Eurasia, although the groundhog is also a familiar species of agricultural landscapes. Marmots eat the tissues of a wide ra…
Ground squirrels, gophers, or diggers are species of ground-dwelling rodents in the genus Citellus. These animals occur through much of western and northern North America and northern Eurasia. They typically have a grizzled, yellowish or grayish fur, often decorated with white spots or stripes. Ground squirrels eat seeds, fruits, foliage, and underground tissues of herbaceous plants, and they have…
There are various types of flying squirrels, especially in tropical forests. However, those of the Americas are two species in the genus Glaucomys. Flying squirrels are nocturnal animals. They nest in cavities in trees, and are proficient at gliding from higher to lower parts of trees, using a wide flap of skin stretching between their legs as their aerodynamic "wings." These animals…
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