Mammals of Washington, Volume 2: University of Kansas Publications Museum of Natural HistoryDalquest, Walter Woelber
Science
Mammals of Washington, Volume 2: University of Kansas Publications Museum of Natural History
Dalquest, Walter Woelber
Mammals -- Washington (State)
_Remarks._--The eastern gray squirrel was introduced at Woodland Park,
Seattle, in 1925. The original stock (7 pairs) came from Minneapolis,
Minnesota. It has spread through the nearby woods, around Green Lake,
Cowan Park, and to the woods on the University of Washington Campus.
Occasional individuals are found outside the city limits, but the
species seems not to spread away from the city.
=Sciurus niger= Linnaeus subsp?
Fox squirrel
[_Sciurus_] _niger_ Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., 1 (10th ed.):64, 1758.
_Description._--Similar in size and appearance to the eastern gray
squirrel but upper parts more reddish and underparts reddish orange
rather than white.
_Remarks._--Occasional fox squirrels are encountered near Seattle where
they have been introduced from the southeastern United States. The
source and date of the introduction are unknown.
=Tamiasciurus hudsonicus= (Erxleben)
Red squirrel
_Description._--The head and body of the red squirrel measure about
7-3/4 inches, the tail about 5 inches. It may be recognized by its trim
body, bushy tail and white underparts. The upper parts are reddish gray,
reddest on the dorsal area. The red color of the center of the back
extends to the tail. A black line separates the dark upper parts from
the white underparts.
Red squirrels range over North America from the northern limit of tree
growth south through the United States to Tennessee and North Carolina.
A related species, _douglasii_, is found along the Pacific coast from
British Columbia to California. The genus _Tamiasciurus_ differs from
_Sciurus_ of Washington in lacking a penis bone or baculum. There are
other fundamental differences in anatomy (see Mossman, Lawlah and
Bradley, 1932: 89-155).
The habitat of the red squirrels is the coniferous forests from which
they rarely stray. Zonally they range through the Transition and
Canadian life-zones into the Hudsonian Life-zone. Red squirrels are
arboreal and most of their habits are modified by arboreal existence.
They are swift and agile climbers, able to travel from tree to tree on
slender twigs or by leaping as much as ten feet to span the distance
from one branch to another. They ascend and descend trees head first.
They hang by their hind feet, high in the air, to clip the cones of
conifers. If cornered in a tree they leap far out and, by extending the
legs and tail stiffly, fall to the ground unharmed by leaps of fifty
feet or more.
[Illustration: FIG. 89. Douglas squirrel (_Tamiasciurus douglasii
douglasii_): feeding station with remnants of Douglas fir cone,
Longmire, Washington, elevation 2,700 feet, June 25, 1937. (Fish
and Wildlife Service photo by Victor B. Scheffer, No. 268.)]
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