Sciurus variegatoides 71dish, or have a rust-colored neck, sides, and legs. The tail is
either black with interspersed white-tipped hairs or solid
black edged with white hairs. The tail color usually distin-
guishes it from other tree squirrels. In Costa Rica, for ex-
ample, S. granatensis is smaller and has a reddish tail. Light-
colored feet distinguish S. variegatoides from S. aureogaster in
México and Guatemala.
size: Female—HB 260.6 mm; T 278.7 mm; Mass 468.8 g.
Male—HB 255.9 mm; T 262.8 mm; Mass 536.9 g.
Sex not stated—HB 263.5 mm; T 268.9 mm; Mass 576.8 g.
distribution: This species ranges from southern Chiapas
(México) across Central America to Panama.
geographic variation: Fifteen subspecies are recog-
nized in this highly geographically variable species.
S. v. variegatoides—tropical forest highlands of Guatemala
(along the borders with El Salvador and Honduras) south
through eastern Honduras to the Pacifi c coast in eastern
El Salvador. All of the upperparts and the base of the tail
are a dingy yellowish gray. The underparts and feet are
dull ochraceous. The backs of the ears are pale rusty,
with basal patches of dull buff. The dorsal surface of the
tail is black washed with white, while the ventral surface
is colored like the back but bordered in black and edged
in whitish gray.
S. v. adolphei—tropical lowlands of Realego (= Realejo) (Nica-
ragua). The top of the head and the nape are iron gray,
but paler than the back. The rest of the upperparts and
the base of the tail are dark grayish brown. The rest of
the tail is washed with white. The underparts and the
inside of the limbs are reddish chestnut brown, some-
times with patches of white.
S. v. atrirufus—Tambor (Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica).
There is a broad black band on the back, and the cinna-
mon rufus coloring on the underparts extends well up
on the sides, without any trace of a lateral stripe. The top
of the head is cinnamon rufous, and the ears are bor-
dered in black. There are black stripes over the eyes that
meet between the ears, extend down the back, and nar-
row toward the tail. The tail is black above and cinna-
mon rufous below.
S. v. bangsi—eastern par t of t he Pacifi c coast in Guatemala to
the western portion of El Salvador. This form is most
similar to S. v. goldmani, but it is lighter and grayer than
the grayest extreme of that subspecies, with no rusty
wash on the dorsal pelage. The ears are edged in black
and sometimes have a buff y or rusty ear tuft. A pure
white basal ear patch is present. The feet are light gray,
with white toes. The underparts are white.
S. v. belti—humid tropical forests, ranging from the western
coast of Honduras and Nicaragua inland to Yoro (Hondu-
ras) and Chontales and Río San Juan (Nicaragua). The
under parts are uniformly rusty rufous, and the feet are
grizzled with rusty yellowish.
S. v. boothiae—tropical coastal forests of the northern region
of Honduras (around the city of San Pedro Sula), south-
easterly through central Honduras to the city of San Juan
de Murra (= Murra) in Nicaragua. The back is dark gray-
ish brown washed with shining black, and the feet areSciurus variegatoides rigidus. Photo courtesy Randall D. Babb.