Sciurus aberti
TAXONOMY
Sciurus aberti Woodhouse, 1853, Arizona, United States.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Tassel-eared squirrel; Spanish: Ardilla de Abert.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Head and body length 10–12.5 in (260–320 mm), tail (190–260 mm); weight 16–29 oz (450–820 g). Peppered gray upper fur, underside white. White conspicuous eye ring. Tail is gray fringed in white. Ear tufts or tassels can reach up to 1.5 in (40 mm) in February and March, very reduced or absent during the summer. Some populations in New Mexico and Colorado have a high incidence of melanism. Kaibab race characterized by dark gray to black belly and white tail.
DISTRIBUTION
Northern Mexico, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming.
HABITAT
Ponderosa and yellow pine forests, mixed conifer forests.
BEHAVIOR
Diurnal activity pattern. Home range size reported to vary seasonally linked to the availability of resources, with male home ranges larger than female ranges.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Ponderosa pine seeds, bark, buds, and flowers. Other food items include insects, acorns, mistletoe berries, and fungi. Fungi are an important food source in the summer and Abert squirrels may be important spore dispersal agents.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Polygamous. Gestation approximately 40 days, mean litter size 3.4 young.
CONSERVATION STATUS
There have been suggestions that existing logging and forest management practices may impact negatively on some populations.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None known.
