Southeast Asian Striped Squirrel

About this species

Size

Head and body 10.7–11.4cm; tail 10.6–16.3cm

Weight

About 47g

Diet

Small fruits, insects and fresh leaves

Habitat

Mostly montane forest above 700m; locally lower

Range

Eastern Myanmar, southern China, north-western Vietnam, Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia

The Southeast Asian striped squirrel is a small tree squirrel with alternating cream and dark-brown stripes running along its back. The thickness and length of those bands help distinguish it from other striped squirrels, while the pattern breaks up its outline against deeply fissured bark. Published measurements give a head-and-body length of 10.7–11.4 cm, a tail of 10.6–16.3 cm and a weight near 47 g (Ecology Asia; Hinckley et al. 2024).

It is almost entirely arboreal, moving rapidly through tall trees and rarely descending to the ground while searching for small fruit and insects; fresh-leaf feeding has also been observed. Most records come from montane forest above 700 m, although it occurs lower in parts of Thailand and Myanmar. Its range includes north-western Vietnam, eastern Myanmar, southern China, Thailand and northern and central Peninsular Malaysia. Recognition as a full species follows a recent integrative taxonomic revision (Ecology Asia; Hinckley et al. 2024).

Description: Wildlife of Vietnam guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com)