Squirrels of the World

Sciurus gilvigularis 51

The dorsum is usually grizzled black to brown, suff used
with yellow. It has a rufous tinge on the head, ears, and
rump. The cheeks and chin are washed with yellow to
orangish. The venter is white to cream and off set from the
dorsal colors by an orange lateral line. The tail is orange to
orange red, except near the base, where the coloration is
black frosted with fi ery orange red.

size: Both sexes—HB 272–303 mm; T 242–310 mm.

distribution: It can be found in Venezuela south of the
Orinoco River, extending from the Colombian border to
Cuidad Bolívar.

geographic variation: None.

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

habitat: Fiery squirrels inhabit tropical lowlands and
semideciduous and evergreen forests; they are not known
to occur in secondary or disturbed forests.

natural history: This species is diurnal. Fiery squirrels
are strongly arboreal and are diffi cult to observe as they
forage, which is typically high in the canopy of large trees
with dense cover, and often in low humid marshy palm
groves. They feed heavily on tree seeds, nuts, and fruits,
especially palms. S. fl ammifer nests in leaf nests con-
structed high in the canopy. Fiery squirrels are occasion-
ally hunted, but habitat loss is probably the major current
threat to this species, given their apparent sensitivity to
forest disturbance.

general references: J. A. Allen 1915; Eisenberg and Red-
ford 1999; Linares 1998.

Sciurus gilvigularis (Wagner, 1842)

Yellow-Throated Squirrel

description: S. gilvigularis has a short thin pelage, with a
dorsa l colorat ion grizzled wit h ochraceous buff and black. A
narrow pale buff eye ring is present. No postauricular
patches are evident. The ventral pelage is a dark ochraceous
orange that is darkest on the chest and upper abdomen and
paler on the throat and lower abdomen. The tail is grizzled
with buff and black and edged in buff , and it may exhibit
faint banding.

size: Both sexes—HB 155–177 mm; T 165–195 mm; Mass 150–

165 g.

distribution: The poorly known distribution of this spe-

cies is often described as disjunct through northcentral and

northeastern South America (Venezuela, Guyana, and north-

ern Brazil).

geographic variation: Two subspecies are recognized.

S. g. gilvigularis—northern portion of the range. The tail is

washed with fulvous.

S. g. paraensis—southern portion of the Brazilian range. The

tail is washed with white.

conservation: IUCN status—data defi cient. Population

trend—no information.

habitat: Yellow-throated squirrels inhabit coastal and ev-

ergreen forests dominated by palms, lianas, and rattans. S.

gilvigularis is not found in secondary or logged forests.

natural history: This species is diurnal. Yellow-throated

squirrels feed primarily on the seeds and fruit of palms.

Fruit from Maximiliana martiana is a dominant food item, as

are a diversity of small tree seeds. S. gilvigularis eats while

sitting on a branch or rattan near a palm; the sound of teeth

grinding and nibbled rinds that drop from trees indicate

their presence. In Venezuela, S. gilvigularis is rare, restricted

to low and humid wooded zones.