289.

Swynnerton’s Bush Squirrel

Paraxerus vexillarius

French: Ecureuil de Kershaw / German: Swynnerton-Buschhérnchen / Spanish: Ardilla de matorral de Swynnerton

Other common names: Svynnerton's Bush Squirrel

Taxonomy Funisciurus vexillarius Kershaw, 1923,

“Wilhelmsthal, Lushoto, Usambara,

Tanzania.”

Two subspecies are recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

P.v.vexillariusKershaw,1923—EasternArc Mts(Usambara,Uluguru,andUdzungwa) inETanzania.

P. v. byatti Kershaw, 1923 — Mt Kilimanjaro (Tanzania).

Descriptive notes. Head-body mean 228-1 mm (males) and 226-6 mm (females), tail mean 180-5 mm (males) and 183-7 mm (females); weight 243 g. Dorsal pelage of Swynnerton’s Bush Squirrel is olive-green to brown, and under parts are gray. Face is rufous on nose and mouth, and wide stripe extends from ear to eye. Limbs and feet are more orange than face. Brown tail is long with pale rings at base, buff to olive-brown in middle, and orange at distal tip. Swynnerton’s Bush Squirrel can be distinguished from other members of the genus by having a rufous color only on limbs and tail, rather than on belly as in the Red Bush Squirrel (P. palliatus) or majority of body as in the Black-and-red Bush Squirrel (P. lucifer). Subspecies byatt: has no orange on tip of tail, more ocherous buff dorsal pelage, and darker belly than nominate vexillarius.

Habitat. Montane forests.

Food and Feeding. Swynnerton’s Bush Squirrel forages on fruits and seeds.

Breeding. There is no information available for this species.

Activity patterns. There is no specific information available for this species, but Swynnerton’s Bush Squirrel is diurnal and arboreal.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. There is no information available for this species.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Near Threatened on The IUCN Red List. No data are available on population trends. Major threats include large-scale loss of primary forest habitat. Small patchy distribution (not much larger than 20,000 km?) and restricted habitat have generated concern over conservation of Swynnerton’s Bush Squirrel.

Bibliography. Allen, G.M. (1939), Allen, G.M. & Loveridge (1933), Amtmann (1975), Ellerman (1940), Kingdon (1974, 1997), Thorington et al. (2012).