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SQUIRREL (Fr. ecureuil)

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Originally appearing in Volume V25, Page 748 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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SQUIRREL
SQUIRREL (Fr. ecureuil)

SQUIRREL (Fr. ecureuil) , properly the name of the well-known red, bushy-tailed See also:

BRITISH

British arboreal mammal, Sciurus vulgaris, typifying the genus Sciurus and the See also:

FAMILY

family Sciuridae, but in a wider sense embracing all the rodents included in this and a few nearly allied genera. For the characteristics of the family Sciuridae and the different squirrel-like genera by which it is represented, see See also:

RODENTIA

RODENTIA. What may be called typical, that is to say arboreal, squirrels are found throughout the greater See also:

PART

part of the tropical and See also:

TEMPER (from Lat. temperare, to mingle or compound in due proportion, to qualify, rule, regulate, to be moderate, formed from tempos, time, fit or due season)

temper-See also:

ate regions of both hemispheres, although they are absent both from See also:

MADAGASCAR

Madagascar and See also:

AUSTRALASIA

Australasia. The See also:

SPECIES

species are both largest and most numerous in the tropics, and reach their greatest development in the See also:

MALAY

Malay countries. Squirrels vary in See also:

SIZE

size from animals no larger than a See also:

MOUSE

mouse, such as Nannosciurus soricinus of See also:

BORNEO

Borneo, or N. minutus of See also:

West See also:

Africa, to others as large as a See also:

cat, such as the See also:

black and yellow Ratufa bicolor of See also:

BURMA

Burma and the Malay See also:

AREA

area. The larger species, as might be expected from their heavier build, are somewhat less strictly arboreal in their habits than the smaller ones. The See also:

COMMON

common squirrel, whose habits are too well known to need See also:

SPECIAL

special description, ranges over the whole of See also:

EUROPE

Europe and See also:

NORTHERN

Northern See also:

ASIA

Asia, from See also:

Ireland to See also:

JAPAN

Japan, and from See also:

LAPLAND, or LAPPLAND

Lapland to See also:

North See also:

Italy; but specimens from different parts of this wide range differ so much in See also:

COLOUR (Lat. color, connected with celare, to hide, the root meaning, therefore, being that of a covering)

colour as to constitute distinct races. Thus, while the squirrels of north and west Europe are of the See also:

bright red colour of the British See also:

animal, those of the mountainous regions of See also:

SOUTHERN

southern Europe are of a deep blackish See also:

grey; while those from See also:

SIBERIA

Siberia are a clear See also:

PALE (through Fr. pal, from Lat. palms, a stake, for paglus, from the stem pag- of pangere, to fix; " pole " is from the same original source)

pale grey colour, with scarcely a tinge of rufous. There is also a See also:

GREAT

great seasonal See also:

CHANGE (derived through the Fr. from the Late Lat. cambium, cambiare, to barter; the ultimate derivation is probably from the root which appears in the Gr. «a urmu', to bend)

change in See also:

APPEARANCE (from Lat. apparere, to appear)

appearance and colour in this squirrel, owing to the ears losing their tufts of See also:

HAIR (a word common to Teutonic languages)

hair and to the See also:

BLEACHING

bleaching of the tail. The pairing See also:

time of the squirrel is from See also:

FEBRUARY

February to See also:

APRIL

April; and after a See also:

period of gestation of about See also:

THIRTY

thirty days the See also:

FEMALE

female brings forth from three to nine See also:

young. In addition to all sorts of vegetables and fruits, the squirrel is exceedingly fond of animal See also:

food, greedily devouring mice, small birds and eggs. The squirrels of the typical genus Sciurus are unknown in Africa See also:

south of the See also:

SAHARA

Sahara, but otherwise have a See also:

DISTRIBUTION (Lat. distribuere, to deal out)

distribution co-extensive with the See also:

REST (O. Eng. rest, reste, bed, cognate with other Teutonic forms, e.g. Ger. Rast, Riiste, rest, and probably Gothic Rasta, league, i.e. resting or stopping place)

rest of the family.

Although the See also:

ENGLISH

English squirrel is a beautiful little animal, it is surpassed by many of the tropical members of the See also:

GROUP

group, and especially by those of the Malay countries, where nearly all the species are brilliantly marked, and many are ornamented The Burmese Red-bellied Squirrel (Sciurus pygerylhrus). with variously coloured See also:

LONGITUDINAL

longitudinal stripes along their bodies. Every one who has visited See also:

India is See also:

FAMILIAR (through the Fr. familier, from Lat. familiaris, of or belonging to the familia, family)

familiar with the See also:

PRETTY

pretty little striped See also:

palm-squirrel, which is to a considerable extent a partially domesticated animal, or, rather, an animal which has taken to See also:

QUARTER (through Fr. from Lat. quartarius, fourth part)

quarter itself in the immediate neighbourhood of human habitations. It has been generally supposed that there is only one palm-squirrel throughout India, but there are really two distinct types, each with See also:

LOCAL

local modifications. The first or typical palm-squirrel, Funambulus palmarum, inhabits See also:

MADRAS

Madras, has but three See also:

LIGHT

light stripes on the back, and shows a rufous See also:

BAND

band on the under-See also:

side of the See also:

BASE

base of the tail. In See also:

PENNANT, THOMAS (1726-1798)

Pennant's palm-squirrel, F. pennanti, on the other See also:

hand, there is a pair of faint additional lateral See also:

white stripes, making five in all, and the under-See also:

SURFACE

surface of the tail is uniformly whitish See also:

OLIVE (Olea europaea)

olive. As this species has been obtained in See also:

SURAT

Surat and the See also:

PUNJAB

Punjab, it is believed to be the northern type. One See also:

ORIENTAL

Oriental species (Sciurus caniceps) presents almost the only known instance among mammals of the See also:

ASSUMPTION, FEAST OF

assumption during the breeding See also:

SEASON (0. Fr. seson, seison, mod. saison, Lat. satio, sowing time, the spring, from serere, to sow; in Late Lat. the word is found with its present meaning, the spring being considered as particularly the season of the year)

season of a distinctly ornamental coat, corresponding to the breeding plumage of birds. For the greater part of the See also:

YEAR

year the animal is of a See also:

UNIFORM

uniform grey colour, but about See also:

DECEMBER (Lat. decent, ten)

December its back becomes a brilliant See also:

orange-yellow, which lasts until about See also:

March, when it is again replaced by grey. The squirrel shown in the See also:

ILLUSTRATION

illustration is a native of Burma and See also:

TENASSERIM

Tenasserim, and is closely allied to S. caniceps, but goes through no seasonal change of colour. Another Burmese squirrel, S. haringtoni, differs as regards colour in a remarkable manner from all other known members of the group. It is a See also:

MEDIUM

medium-sized species of a pale creamy See also:

BUFF (from Fr. bu.ffie, a buffalo)

buff colour above, lighter beneath, and with a whitish tail, while it is further characterized by the See also:

ABSENCE (Lat. absentia)

absence of the first upper premolar, which shows that it is not an See also:

ALBINO

albino or pale variety.

Two examples were obtained by See also:

CAPTAIN (derived from Lat. ca put, head, through the Low Lat. capitanus)

Captain H. H. See also:

HARINGTON, SIR JOHN (1561—1612)

Harington, of one of the Punjabi regiments, on the Upper See also:

Chindwin See also:

RIVER

river. It may be added that generic subdivisions of the squirrels are based mainly on the characters of the See also:

SKULL

skull and See also:

TEETH (O.E. Eel); plural of tooth, O.E. top)

teeth. That they are essential is evident from the circumstance that the See also:

AFRICAN

African spiny squirrels Xerus (see SPINY SQUIRREL) come between Sciurus and some of the other African genera. (R.

End of Article: SQUIRREL (Fr. ecureuil)

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