Saturday 1 November 2008

Plantain Squirrel (Callosciurus notatus)

OTHER NAMES: Oriental Squirrel, Tricoloured Squirrel
Latin Etymology: Callosciurus ("beautiful squirrel") notatus ("marked")

Adult Plantain Squirrel (subspecies C. n. miniatus) at Kuala Lumpur - July 2016

Featured Subspecies: Callosciurus notatus miniatus
Weight: 150-280g  /  Length: 40-60cm
NO UK STATUS IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The most common squirrel in my time in Malaysia and probably the most common mammal on the trip in general, the Plantain Squirrel is a distinctive species with bands of orange, black and white on it's belly that make it easy to recognise, which, combined with it's large size make it easy to spot.  They are quite happy to live in parks in much the same way as grey squirrels are in the UK.  My favourite moment with this species however was when strolling through Kuala Lumpur Botanic Gardens, a shape suddenly thudded on the ground in an open patch of grass - we initially thought it was a branch but when it scurried off back to the treeit had fallen from (and it must have been a good 20m fall at least) it had very much an air of refusing to acknowledge that anyone had seen it be so ungraceful.

Related Species:
Order: Rodentia
Family: Sciuridae
Genus: Callosciurus
SUBSPECIES: C. n. notatus, C. n. diardii, C. n. vittatus, C. n. suffusus, C. n. miniatus

 - Sighting Locations -
MALAYSIA - Malay - Tupai Pinang ("Pinang Squirrel")
A common resident.
 - MALAYSIA/SINGAPORE 2016 TRIP: Fairly common in Kuala Lumpur

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red ListRSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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