Squirrels of the World

Protoxerus stangeri 247

geographic variation: Two subspecies are recognized.

P. a. aubinnii—Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. See description
above.
P. a. salae—Sierra Leone, Liberia, and southern Guinea. This
is a darker subspecies, with bands on the tip of the tail.

conservation: IUCN—data defi cient. Population trend—
no information.

habitat: The slender-tailed squirrel inhabits the under-
growth of lowland tropical moist forests and is often found
in raffi a palm (Raphia) swamps.

natural history: P. aubinnii forages on the husks of raffi a
palms. No other biological information is known.

general references: Booth 1960; Grubb et al. 1998; Ros-
evear 1969.

Protoxerus stangeri (Waterhouse, 1842)

Forest Giant Squirrel

description: The forest giant squirrel is one of the largest
and most abundant squirrels in the areas where it occurs.
The dorsal pelage and limbs are brown grizzled with black
and yellow. The belly is sparsely haired and white, yellow,

or dark; the head is gray. The long bushy tail is gray with

subtle dark-colored bands. While moving, the animal holds

its tail straight out behind its body. At rest, it hangs the tail

below the body.

size: Female—HB 276.7 mm (n = 18); T 298.6 mm (n = 16);

Mass 760.8 g (n = 5).

Male—HB 279.5 mm (n = 19); T 300.1 mm (n = 19); Mass

538.3 g (n = 3).

Sex not stated—HB 304.6 mm (n = 17); T 307.5 mm (n = 2);

Mass 658.35 g (n = 35).

distribution: The forest giant squirrel is distributed

through West and Central Africa, in Sierra Leone, southern

Guinea, Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria,

Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea

(including Bioko Island), Gabon, the Republic of the Congo,

the Democratic Republic of the Congo, central Uganda, west-

ern Kenya, far western Rwanda, and far western Burundi.

Two isolated records indicate that populations may also

exist in Tanzania and the Angola Escarpment (in Angola

and from Angola into southern Democratic Republic of the

Congo). This species lives at elevations up to 2000 m.

geographic variation: Twelve subspecies are recognized.

P. s. stangeri—Bioko Island (Equatorial Guinea). See descrip-

tion above.

P. s. bea—Kakamega Forest (western Kenya). It has a light