Grizzled giant squirrel
| Grizzled giant squirrel | |
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| The highland subspecies of giant squirrel, with denser fur | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Sciuridae |
| Genus: | Ratufa |
| Species: | R. macroura |
| Binomial name | |
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Ratufa macroura (Pennant, 1769) |
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| Subspecies | |
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| Grizzled giant squirrel range | |
| Synonyms | |
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Ratufa macroura Phillips, 1931 subspecies sinhala |
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Ratufa macroura Phillips, 1931 subspecies sinhala
Ratufa macrurus Blyth, 1859 subspecies albipes
Sciurus ceilonensis Boddaert, 1785
Sciurus ceylonensis Erxleben, 1777
Sciurus ceylonica (Erxleben, 1777)
Sciurus macrourus Pennant, 1769
Sciurus macrourus Kelaart, 1852 variety monatnus
Sciurus macrourus (Kelaart, 1852) variety montana
Sciurus macrura Blanford, 1891
Sciurus tennentii Blyth, 1849
Sciurus zeyllanicus Day, 1693
The grizzled giant squirrel (Ratufa macroura) is a large tree squirrel in the genus Ratufa found in the highlands of the Central and Uva provinces of Sri Lanka, and in patches of riparian forest along the Kaveri River and in the hill forests of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala states of southern India. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the species as near threatened due to habitat loss and hunting.
It is the national animal of Sri Lanka.
There are three subspecies, all of which are found in Sri Lanka. The subspecies R. m. dandolena (taken from the Sinhalese language name for the grizzled giant squirrel, dhandu laena-දඩු ලේනා) is also found in India.
Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary is located in Shenbagathoppu, Srivilliputtur, Tamil Nadu, India.
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