Squirrels of the World

34 Microsciurus fl aviventer

of the limbs are reddish yellow, and the tail is washed
with yellow.
M. f. napi—Ecuador and southern Colombia, east of the An-
des. This subspecies is similar to M. f. peruanus in color-
ing and postauricular patches, but it can be distinguished
by the more faintly yellowish rufous color of the
venter.
M. f. otinus—mountains of central and northern Colombia.
The ears are tipped with white, and the tail is frosted
whitish.
M. f. peruanus—northwestern Peru. This subspecies is yel-
lowish rufous below, with large white postauricular
patches.
M. f. rubrirostris—central Peru. This is a large form, with a
long tail frosted in yellow, and an orange ochraceous
venter.
M. f. sabanillae—southern Ecuador. This is a large form, with
an ochraceous venter, and a lack of postauricular patches.
M. f. similis—southern Colombia. This subspecies is orange
rufous below, and it lacks patches on or behind the ears.
M. f. simonsi—central Ecuador. This dark unspotted form
has a yellow eye ring, as well as a fulvous venter.

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

habitat: Amazon dwarf squirrels inhabit upper Amazo-
nian evergreen tropical rainforests, at elevations less than
2000 m.

natural history: This form is diurnal. It may nest in
typical leaf nests (dreys)—composed of woven leaves lined
with fi bers—in palm trees. Litter size has been reported to

be two young. Occasionally these squirrels are seen in pairs;

they forage on the ground and throughout all levels of the

multistoried canopy. They are not found in fl ooded forests,

but are more common in terra fi rma forests. They rarely use

treefalls, gaps, or liana forests, but they are common within

the high forest, usually foraging at heights of 1–5 m. They

feed whi le sit t ing on logs or t ree boles. A ma zon dwa rf squir-

rels make use of very small and very large trees as they hur-

riedly move through the forest, and they appear to actively

search for insects and other arthropods as they go. Amazon

dwarf squirrels follow mixed fl ocks of insectivorous birds

in the morning, in order to enhance their own success in

gleaning insects from the forest. Individuals gnaw on tree

branches and trunks in apparent attempts to extract exu-

dates. M. fl aviventer is occasionally hunted along roads.

These squirrels are not considered a nuisance.

general references: J. A. Allen 1914, 1915; Buitrón- Jurado

and Tobar 2007; Emmons and Feer 1990; Haugaasen and

Peres 2005; Mena-Valenzuela 1998; Youlatos 1999.

Microsciurus mimulus (Thomas, 1898)

Western Dwarf Squirrel

description: Western dwarf squirrels have a grizzled

brown dorsum suff used with pale yellow or orange buff ,

sometimes with a black median line. The venter is a pale to

Microsciurus flaviventer. Photo courtesy Kenneth Chiou.

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