Funambulus layardi
| Layard's palm squirrel | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Sciuridae |
| Genus: | Funambulus |
| Subgenus: | Funambulus |
| Species: | F. layardi |
| Binomial name | |
|
Funambulus layardi (Blyth, 1849) |
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| Subspecies | |
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| Synonyms | |
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Funambulus layardi Robinson, 1917 |
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Funambulus layardi Robinson, 1917
Sciurus layardi Blyth, 1849
Tamoides layardi Phillips, 1935 subsp. layardi
Tamoides layardi Phillips, 1935 subsp. signatus
Layard's palm squirrel or flame-striped jungle squirrel (Funambulus layardi) is a species of rodents in the family Sciuridae endemic to Sri Lanka. The validity of the subspecies F. l. dravidianus based on a single specimen from the southern tip of India has been questioned, and is probably a juvenile F. sublineatus. Known as මූකලන් ලේනා (mukalan lena) in Sinhala.
Endemic to island of Sri Lanka, this little beautiful creature can be seen in central highlands only. Few observations are known out of central hills, such as from Trincomalee and Matara districts, but it remains unresolved. It can be seen in Knuckles mountain range and other high altitude ranges in western basin of the central hills.
Its head and body length is 12–17 cm, with a 14-cm tail. In color, it is blackish brown with three stripes on its dorsum; the central stripe is broadest and longest with an orange hue in F. signatus, yellow in F. layardi. Its underparts are reddish orange in color, and its snout is small. Tail bushy and blackish brown with some red in it. Some individuals also possess some grizzling appearance on it. Fur is soft, short and dense.
Its natural habitat is subtropical and tropical moist lowland forests or subtropical and tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat loss. It is a diurnal species as other squirrels of the genus and forage in full daytime. They are found on canopy level in forests, where they spend little time on ground. With night falls, they start to become noisy.
The main predators of this little creature are snakes, raptor birds, civets and small cats. Mongooses are fairly can be predotors when they land onto ground floor.
Unlike other squirrels, they are slightly omnivores that eat fruits, young shoots, nuts and also insects when herbivore diets scarce.
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Wikipedia