Mammals of the WorldIndochinese Ground Squirrel
Menetes berdmorei
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Sciuridae
- Genus
- Menetes
- IUCN status
- LC
- Distribution
- China|Myanmar|Thailand|Laos|Vietnam|Cambodia
- Realm
- Palearctic|Indomalaya
About this species
- Size
- About 20cm plus a 15cm tail
- Habitat
- Dense rainforest undergrowth, fields, villages and rice fields
- Range
- East Myanmar and Yunnan (southern China) to Vietnam and Cambodia
Berdmore's ground squirrel, also called the Indochinese ground squirrel, is a ground squirrel found in Southeast Asia, from eastern Myanmar and Yunnan (southern China) to Vietnam and Cambodia. It has a grey-brown back and a white belly, and most striking are the stripes on each side, one beige and below it a black stripe. The head is pointy, so the squirrel resembles a mouse or a treeshrew (Wikipedia, general species account).
Its length is about 20 cm, not including a 15 cm tail. As a ground squirrel it is rarely found in trees but spends most of its time in the thick undergrowth of rainforests; it is also found in fields and villages, and is sometimes extremely common in rice fields. Despite being quite common, very little is known about its life.
Description: Wildlife of Vietnam guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)