Southern Amazon red squirrel

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The Southern Amazon red squirrel (Sciurus spadiceus) is a large, reddish-brown squirrel that lives in forests of north-western South America east of the Andes. There are three recognized subspecies: spadiceus, steinbachi, and tricolor.

Appearance
It measures about 48–63 cm in total length, including a very long tail that is 24–34 cm long. It weighs roughly 570–660 g. The fur is usually reddish-brown, sometimes dark brown to near-black (especially in steinbachi and tricolor), with white to pale ochre underparts and a dark band separating the colors. The cheeks and head can be yellow to reddish-orange, and the tail is dark brown at the base fading to orange along most of its length. The southern Amazon red squirrel differs from the northern Amazon red squirrel by having a longer, narrower head and orange fur behind the ears and on the tops of the feet.

Habitat and range
It lives in north-western South America east of the Andes, from southern Colombia and western Ecuador through eastern Peru and northern Bolivia to Brazil south of the Amazon River. Most of its habitat is lowland rainforest, though some populations in the western part of its range live in forested highlands near the Andes.

Behavior and diet
These squirrels spend a lot of time on the ground among dense undergrowth but can climb trees and retreat to the canopy during floods. They are diurnal herbivores, mainly eating large hard-shelled nuts from plants such as murumuru, Attalea, and Dipteryx. They are not territorial, and several individuals often feed on the same tree. They cache nuts on the ground and tend to descend to ground level when alarmed. Alarm calls are described as a sneeze-like sound followed by chattering.

Social life and reproduction
They are sociable and often feed together. Breeding details are not well known, but females are said to have litters of 2–4 pups. Typical densities in the wild are about 3.8–6.6 animals per square kilometer, and individual home ranges span roughly 25–50 hectares.

Predators and conservation status
Predators include ocelots and jaguars. The species is common within its range and faces no major threats. The IUCN classifies it as Least Concern due to its wide distribution and relatively stable population.