228 Heliosciurus rufobrachiumblack rings. The body pelage varies regionally in color, but
it is generally dark brown, gray, or red on the back and pale
brown, red, or orange on the belly, with the entire body coat
grizzled buff. The inner and outer sides of the limbs are
bright rusty red, brown, or gray. The head is small, the ears
are short, and the eyes are ringed by pale hairs. The tail is
long and thin with faint rings of yellow and black, and it is
usually held straight out behind the animal or drooped over
a branch rather than curled against the back.
size: Female—HB 274.0 mm (n = 3); T 249.3 mm (n = 7).
Male—HB 224.5 mm (n = 16); T 252.6 mm (n = 14); Mass
305.0 g (n = 1).
Sex not stated—HB 227.3 mm (n = 3); T 274.0 mm (n = 3);
Mass 291.0 g (n = 1).distribution: This squirrel is found in the coastal coun-
tries of West Africa and the countries of Central Africa,
from southern Senegal through Gambia, Guinea-Bissau,
Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo,
Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon,
southern Central African Republic, the Republic of the
Congo, northern Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, far northwestern Tanzania, and
eastern Kenya.geographic variation: Twenty-one subspecies are rec-
ognized by region.H. r. rufobrachium—Bioko Island (Equatorial Guinea). The
ventral pelage is light rust or gray.
H. r. arrhenii—Democratic Republic of the Congo. This sub-
species is darker, with a rufous coloration on the nose
and limbs.
H. r. aubryi—Gabon, southwestern Central African Repub-
lic, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, between
the Tshuapa and Kasai rivers. The dorsal pelage is very
dark and features a reddish coloration on the fl anks.
H. r. benga—Equatorial Guinea. This form is small, with the
reddish coloration extending through the tail rather
than ending at its base.
H. r. caurinus—Guinea-Bissau. These animals show the “av-
erage” coloration of subspecies within H. rufobrachium,
but they exhibit a tannish brown chest, a white ventral
pelage, and red forearms and inner thighs.
H. r. coenosus—Democratic Republic of the Congo. The ven-
tral pelage is slightly lighter than the dorsal coat. The
hands and feet are grayish tan, and the outer forearms
are buff y colored. The tail is dark, speckled with gray
and ringed with light-colored bands.
H. r. emissus—Nigeria. It is distinguished by its small size
and brown underfur.
H. r. hardyi—Côte d’Ivoire. This subspecies is paler than the
others, with a dully whitish ventral pelage and buff feet.
H. r. isabellinus—Togo to eastern Nigeria. The red coloration
is very faint in these animals, and is replaced with a
darker coloration; the tail is heavily ringed with black.
H. r. keniae—western slope of Mount Kenya (Kenya). This
form has yellow highlights on the sides of the head; the
tail is black with yellow and black bands.
H. r. leakyi—eastern Kenya, around Garissa. We found no
available description.Heliosciurus rufobrachium maculatus. Photo courtesy
Lars H. Holbech.