Oriental giant squirrel
| Oriental giant squirrels Temporal range: Middle Miocene to Recent | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Indian Giant Squirrel (Ratufa indica) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Eutheria |
| Superorder: | Euarchontoglires |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Suborder: | Sciuromorpha |
| Family: | Sciuridae |
| Subfamily: | Ratufinae Moore, 1959 |
| Genus: | Ratufa Gray, 1867 |
| Species | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Eoscuirus | |
Skeleton of a Ratufa species
Oriental giant squirrels are cat-sized tree squirrels from the genus Ratufa in the subfamily Ratufinae. They are a distinctive element of the fauna of south and southeast Asia.
There are four living species of oriental giant squirrels:
- Cream-coloured giant squirrel, Ratufa affinis
- Black giant squirrel, Ratufa bicolor
- Indian giant squirrel, Ratufa indica
- Grizzled giant squirrel, Ratufa macroura
In prehistoric times this lineage was more widespread. For example, animals very similar to Ratufa and possibly belonging to this genus–at least belonging to the Ratufinae–were part of the early Langhian (Middle Miocene, some 16–15.2 million years ago) Hambach fauna of Germany.[1]
References
- ↑ Gee, Carole T.; Sander, P. Martin; Petzelberger, Bianka E .M. (2003). "A Miocene rodent nut cache in coastal dunes of the Lower Rhine Embayment, Germany". Palaeontology. 46 (6): 1133–1149. doi:10.1046/j.0031-0239.2003.00337.x.
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