Mammals of the WorldSwinhoe's Striped Squirrel
Tamiops swinhoei
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Sciuridae
- Genus
- Tamiops
- IUCN status
- LC
- Distribution
- China|Myanmar|Vietnam|Laos
- Realm
- Palearctic|Indomalaya
About this species
- Diet
- Seeds, fruits, nuts and ginger nectar; also eggs of cavity-nesting birds
- Habitat
- Mountainous tropical forest
- Range
- China and Southeast Asia
- Litter size
- 3–6, averaging 3.25
Swinhoe's striped squirrel is a small species of rodent in the family Sciuridae found mostly in China and Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, Myanmar, Hainan and possibly Laos. It lives in mountainous tropical forest, usually in pairs or groups (Wikipedia, general species account).
It is a herbivore that eats mostly nuts, seeds, fruits and ginger nectar, storing food for times of scarcity, and it robs nectar from several ginger species by opening the base of the corolla. It also preys on the eggs of cavity-nesting birds. It breeds about once every six months, with litters of three to six.
Description: Wildlife of Vietnam guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)