Animal Diversity Web

Ge­o­graphic Range

Cau­casian squir­rels are na­tive to Greece, Turkey, Ar­me­nia, Geor­gia, Azer­bai­jan, Iran, Iraq, Pales­tine, Jor­dan, Lebanon and Syria. The south­ern­most recorded range of their dis­tri­b­u­tion is the for­est cov­ered moun­tains of Jarash and Ajlum in Jor­dan (Amr et al. 2006). (Amr, et al., 2006)

• Biogeographic Regions
• palearctic
  • native

Habi­tat

Cau­casian squir­rels in­habit conif­er­ous and tem­per­ate mixed forests. Their nest are usu­ally found in the tree hol­lows, and they seem to pre­fer pine trees (such as oak, wal­nut, and wil­low) to de­cid­u­ous trees. Their nests are also found under rocks, in­side heaps of stones, and in res­i­den­tial areas, such as grave­yards and aban­doned cat­tle sheds (Amr et al. 2006). (Amr, et al., 2006)

• Habitat Regions
• temperate
• terrestrial

• Terrestrial Biomes
• forest

• Other Habitat Features
• suburban
• agricultural

Phys­i­cal De­scrip­tion

Cau­casian squir­rels have a den­tal for­mula of in­cisors 1/1, ca­nines 0/0, pre­mo­lars 1/1, and mo­lars 3/3, to­tal­ing 20. They have four fin­gered fore feet and five fin­gered hind feet. Sex dif­fer­ences in body length or mass are not ev­i­dent (Amr et al., 2006; Hayssen, 2008). (Amr, et al., 2006; Hayssen, 2008)

Their ven­tral fur usu­ally has a red­dish color and fur color changes in win­ter. Adult dor­sal fur color in win­ter ranges from pale-black­ish-grey to pale-red­dish-buff. The dor­sal fur color in sum­mer varies from very light-red­dish-grey to pale-black­ish-grey. The ven­tral fur color in win­ter ranges from light-yel­low­ish-buff to light-red­dish-buff. The ven­tral color in sum­mer varies from red­dish-yel­low to rich or­ange. Some in­di­vid­u­als have ear tufts in win­ter, but these dis­ap­pear in sum­mer through au­tumn. (Al­bayrak and Ar­slan, 2006; Amr et al., 2006; Hayssen, 2008; Pa­mukoglu and Al­bayrak, 1996; Wauters and Dhondt, 1992) (Al­bayrak and Ar­slan, 2006; Amr, et al., 2006; Hayssen, 2008; Pa­mukogul and Al­bayrak, 1996; Wauters and Dhondt, 1992)

• Other Physical Features
• endothermic
• heterothermic
• bilateral symmetry

• Sexual Dimorphism
• sexes alike

• Average mass

  335.3 g

  11.82 oz

• Average length

  200.0 mm

  7.87 in

Re­pro­duc­tion

The mat­ing sys­tem of Cau­casian squir­rels is cur­rently un­known. How­ever, a closely re­lated species, Eurasian red squir­rels, are well-stud­ied. Eurasian red squir­rel fe­males in es­trus give off a scent that males can de­tect dur­ing mat­ing sea­son. Males fol­low her for one or more hours, but males give up pur­suit when she leaves their home range. Male’s home range size de­pends on their rank in dom­i­nance hi­er­ar­chy, with dom­i­nant males hold­ing larger ranges re­sult­ing in more chances to mate (Lurz, Gur­nell, and Ma­gris, 2005). (Lurz, et al., 2005)

• Mating System
• polygynous
• polygynandrous (promiscuous)

There is no in­for­ma­tion avail­able re­gard­ing gen­eral re­pro­duc­tive be­hav­ior of Cau­casian squir­rels, but their close rel­a­tive, Eurasian red squir­rels are well stud­ied. Both males and fe­males are sex­u­ally ma­ture at 9 to 19 months old. Breed­ing sea­son of Eurasian red squir­rels is pro­longed from De­cem­ber to Jan­u­ary and Au­gust to Sep­tem­ber. Fe­males are polyestrus and in sea­son for only one day per breed­ing cycle. Mat­ing peaks occur in win­ter and spring. The av­er­age ges­ta­tion pe­riod in tem­per­ate tree squir­rels ranges from 39 to 44 days, so it is as­sumed that ges­ta­tion pe­ri­ods for Cau­casian squir­rels may fall within that range. Their close rel­a­tive Eurasian red squir­rels usu­ally have two to five off­spring per lit­ter. Off­spring have been weaned at eight to ten weeks (Lurz et al., 2005; Em­mons, 1979; Mari et al., 2008). (Em­mons, 1979; Lurz, et al., 2005; Mari, et al., 2008)

• Key Reproductive Features
• iteroparous
• seasonal breeding
• gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
• sexual

• Breeding interval

  Caucasian squirrels breed twice yearly from December to January and August to September.

• Breeding season

  Caucasian squirrels mate in the winter and spring.

No in­for­ma­tion on the parental in­vest­ment of Cau­casian squireels was found. How­ever, Eurasian red squir­rels males do not pro­vide parental care. Fe­males nurse and pro­tect off­spring in their nests. Ma­ter­nal care may ex­tend after the young are weaned (Lurz, Gur­nell, and Ma­gris, 2005). (Lurz, et al., 2005)

• Parental Investment
• altricial
• female parental care
• pre-weaning/fledging
  • provisioning
    • female
  • protecting
    • female
• pre-independence
  • provisioning
    • female
  • protecting
    • female

Lifes­pan/Longevity

There is no in­for­ma­tion avail­able re­gard­ing av­er­age lifes­pan of Cau­casian squir­rels. Eurasian red squir­rels live up to seven years in the wild and ten years in cap­tiv­ity. Since Cau­casian squir­rels in­habit some arid areas, water scarcity dur­ing the sum­mer sea­son can lower sur­vival rates (Amr et al., 2006; Frenti­nos, 1972; Lurz, Gur­nell, and Ma­gris, 2005). (Amr, et al., 2006; Far­enti­nos, 1972; Lurz, et al., 2005)

Be­hav­ior

There is lit­tle in­for­ma­tion on the be­hav­ior of Cau­casian squir­rels. They are di­ur­nal and stay ac­tive all year ex­cept in win­ter. They are most ac­tive in sum­mer sea­son. Cau­casian squir­rels be­come most ac­tive dur­ing the early morn­ing to morn­ing and dur­ing the two hours be­fore sun­set in early sum­mer. Like other tree squir­rels, they are ter­ri­to­r­ial. The an­i­mal marks ter­ri­to­ries with urine and feces. The marks are re­newed sev­eral times every day. Di­ur­nal tree squir­rels tend to be soli­tary dur­ing non-mat­ing sea­sons, so Cau­casian squir­rels may be a soli­tary, as well (Abi-Said and Amr 2012, Amr et al. 2006, Far­enti­nos 1972). (Abi-Said and Amr, 2012; Amr, et al., 2006; Far­enti­nos, 1972)

• Key Behaviors
• arboreal
• diurnal
• motile
• solitary

Home Range

There is no in­for­ma­tion avail­able re­gard­ing home range of Cau­casian squir­rels. How­ever, Eurasian red squir­rel males tend to have larger home range than fe­males. Higher-rank­ing in­di­vid­u­als have larger home ranges (Lurz, Gur­nell, and Ma­gris, 2005). (Lurz, et al., 2005)

Com­mu­ni­ca­tion and Per­cep­tion

No de­tailed in­for­ma­tion is avail­able re­gard­ing com­mu­ni­ca­tion of Cau­casian squir­rels. They do call, so they may com­mu­ni­cate with sounds (e.g. warn­ing calls) like other tree squir­rels. Dur­ing breed­ing sea­sons, the closely re­lated species, Eurasian red squir­rels, com­mu­ni­cate with body pos­ture and sounds in­clud­ing chuck­ing calls and teeth chat­ter­ing. Eurasian red squir­rel fe­males in es­trus also give off a scent that males can de­tect dur­ing mat­ing sea­son (Amr et al., 2006; Lurz, Gur­nell, and Ma­gris, 2005). (Amr, et al., 2006; Lurz, et al., 2005)

• Communication Channels
• acoustic
• chemical

• Perception Channels
• visual
• tactile
• acoustic
• chemical

Food Habits

Cau­casian squir­rels are her­biv­o­rous. They mostly eat pine acorns, other seeds and fruits. They some­times for­age in res­i­den­tial areas, and some are ob­served scav­eng­ing food from garbage dump­sters. Their close rel­a­tive Eurasian red squir­rels, have sim­i­lar diets to Cau­casian squir­rels, but it also eats berries and fungi. When food abun­dance is low, the diet of Eurasian red squir­rels be­come var­ied, in­clud­ing birds’ eggs, tree bark, flow­ers, and in­ver­te­brates (Amr et al., 2006; Sadegh­inezhad et al., 2012). (Amr, et al., 2006; Sadegh­nezhad, et al., 2012)

• Primary Diet
• herbivore
  • frugivore
  • granivore

• Plant Foods
• seeds, grains, and nuts
• fruit

Pre­da­tion

Lit­tle is known of preda­tors of Cau­casian squir­rls. One study re­ports pre­da­tion by large birds such as golden ea­gles or eagle owls. Many tree squir­rels are eaten by many preda­tors; Eurasian red squir­rel are con­sumed by pine martens, wild cats, some owls, and rap­tors (De Cu­pere et al., 2009; Lurz, Gur­nell, and Ma­gris, 2005). (De Cu­pere, et al., 2009; Lurz, et al., 2005)

• Known Predators

  • golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos)
  • eagle owls (Bubo bubo)

Ecosys­tem Roles

There lit­tle in­for­ma­tion re­gard­ing ecosys­tem roles of Cau­casian squir­rels. How­ever, they eat seeds and fruits and there­fore, likely have an im­por­tant in­flu­ence on the for­est ecosys­tem as seed dis­persers. Ad­di­tion­ally, food re­mains are found in sev­eral ground bur­rows fur­ther sup­port­ing this hy­poth­e­sis (Miyaki, 1987). (Miyaki, 1987)

• Ecosystem Impact
• disperses seeds

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Pos­i­tive

Not much in­for­ma­tion of pos­i­tive eco­nomic im­por­tance for hu­mans is found, but some stud­ies men­tion that peo­ple keep Cau­casian squir­rels, as a com­pan­ion pet (Khazrai­inia et al., 2008; Toot­ian et al., 2012; Mas­seti, 2010). (Khazrai­inia, et al., 2008; Mas­seti, 2010; Toot­ian, et al., 2012)

• Positive Impacts
• pet trade

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Neg­a­tive

Lit­tle is known about the neg­a­tive eco­nomic ef­fects of Cau­casian squir­rels on hu­mans. How­ever, one study re­ports that they for­age at res­i­den­tial gar­dens so they may have neg­a­tive im­pacts on gar­dens (Al­bayrak and Ar­slan, 2006). (Al­bayrak and Ar­slan, 2006)

Con­ser­va­tion Sta­tus

Cau­casian squir­rels are con­sid­ered to be in the least con­cern con­ser­va­tion sta­tus. How­ever, pop­u­la­tion de­cline is re­ported in some areas of their dis­tri­b­u­tion, such as in Turkey mainly due to frag­men­ta­tion and loss of habi­tat. Il­le­gal hunt­ing also harms Cau­casian squirrl pop­u­la­tions (Amr et al., 2006; Yigit et al., 2012). (Amr, et al., 2006; Yigit, et al., 2012)

• IUCN Red List

  Least Concern

Con­trib­u­tors

Eri Nakan­ishi (au­thor), Uni­ver­sity of Alaska Fair­banks, Laura Prugh (ed­i­tor), Uni­ver­sity of Wash­ing­ton, Laura Podzikowski (ed­i­tor), Spe­cial Pro­jects.

Ref­er­ences

Abi-Said, M., Z. Amr. 2012. Cam­era trap­ping in as­sess­ing di­ver­sity of mam­mals in Jabal Moussa Bios­phere Re­serve, Lebanon. Ver­te­brate Zo­ol­ogy, 62(1): 145-152.

Al­bayrak, I., A. Ar­slan. 2006. Con­tri­bu­tion to the Tax­o­nom­i­cal and Bi­o­log­i­cal Char­ac­ter­is­tics of Scirus anom­alus in Turkey (Mam­malia: Ro­den­tia). Turk­ish Jour­nal of Zo­ol­ogy, 30: 111-116.

Amr, Z., E. Edi, M. Qar­qaz, M. Baker. 2006. The Sta­tus and Dis­tri­b­u­tion of the Per­sian Squir­rel, Sci­u­rus anom­alus (Mam­malia: Ro­den­tia: Sci­uri­dae) in Dibbeen Na­ture Re­serve, Jor­dan. Zo­ol­o­gis­che Ab­hand­lun­gen, 55: 199-207.

De Cu­pere, B., S. Thys, W. Van Neer,, A. Er­cynck, M. Cor­re­mans, M. Waelkens. 2009. Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo) pel­lets from Roman Sagalas­sos (SW Turkey): dis­tin­guish­ing the prey re­mains from nest and roost sites. In­ter­na­tional Jour­nal of Os­teoar­chae­ol­ogy, 19: 1-22.

Em­mons, L. 1979. Ob­ser­va­tions on Lit­ter Size and De­vel­op­ment of Some African Rain­for­est Squir­rels.. Biotrop­ica, 11(3): 207-213.

Far­enti­nos, R. 1972. So­cial dom­i­nance and mat­ing ac­tiv­ity in the tas­sel-eared squir­rel (Sci­u­rus aberti fer­reus). An­i­mal Be­hav­ior, 20: 316-326.

Hayssen, V. 2008. Pat­terns of Body and Tail Length and Body Mass in Sci­uri­dae. Jour­nal of Mam­mal­ogy, 89/4: 852-873.

Khazrai­inia, P., A. Ros­tami, H. Had­dadzadeh, S. Nas­siri. 2008. Hema­to­log­i­cal Char­ac­ter­is­tics and He­mo­glo­bin Typ­ing of the Per­sian Squir­rel (Sci­u­rus anom­alus). Jour­nal of Ex­otic Pet Med­i­cine, 17(1): 44-48.

Lurz, P., J. Gur­nell, L. Ma­gris. 2005. Sci­u­rus vul­garis. Mam­malian Species, 769: 1-10.

Mari, V., S. Mar­tini, C. Romeo, A. Moli­nari, A. Mar­ti­noli, G. Tosi, L. Wauters. 2008. Record lit­ter size in the Eurasian red squir­rel (Sci­u­rus vul­garis). Hys­trix, the Ital­ian Jour­nal of Mam­mal­ogy (n.s.), 19(1): 61-65.

Mas­seti, M. 2010. Home­less mam­mals from the Ion­ian and Aegean is­land. Bonn zo­o­log­i­cal Bul­letin, 57(2): 367-373.

Miyaki, M. 1987. Seed dis­per­sal of the Ko­rean pine, Pinus ko­raien­sis, by the Red squir­rel, Sci­u­rus vul­garis. Ecolo­gial Re­search, 2: 147-157.

Pa­mukogul, N., I. Al­bayrak. 1996. The ro­dents of kas­ta­monu province (Mam­malia: Ro­den­tia). Com­mu­ni­ca­tions de la Fac­ulté des Sci­ences de l'Uni­ver­sité d'Ankara. Séries C, 14: 1-22.

Sadegh­nezhad, J., Z. Toot­ian, G. Ak­bari, R. Chioc­chetti. 2012. The Topog­ra­phy and Gross Anatomy of the Ab­dom­i­nal Gas­troin­testi­nal Tract of the Per­sian Squir­rel (Sci­u­rus anom­alus). In­ter­na­tional Jour­nal of Mor­phol­ogy, 30/2: 524-530.

Toot­ian, Z., J. Sadegh­inezhad, M. Taghi Sheibani, S. Fazelipour, N. De Sordi, R. Chioc­chetti. 2012. His­to­log­i­cal and mucin his­to­chem­i­cal study of the small in­tes­tine of the Per­sian squir­rel (Sci­u­rus anom­alus). Anatom­i­cal Sci­ence In­ter­na­tional, N/A: 1-8.

Wauters, L., A. Dhondt. 1992. Spac­ing be­hav­ior of red squir­rel, Sci­u­rus vul­garis: vari­a­tion be­tween habi­tats and the sexes. An­i­mal Be­hav­ior, 43: 297-311.

Yigit, N., B. Kryštufek, M. Sozen, A. Bukhnikashvili, G. Shen­brot. 2012. "Sci­u­rus anom­alus" (On-line). IUCN Red List of Threat­ened Species. Ac­cessed No­vem­ber 15, 2012 at http://​www.​iucnredlist.​org/​details/​20000/​0.