Species group · Mammals

Squirrels

WAnimals has 13 species of squirrel, all in the family Sciuridae.

13 species

1 family

119 countries

133 parks

Weight: 47 g – 2 kg
Length: 13 cm – 70 cm
Lifespan: 3 – 20 years

Ranges calculated from the entries that record the figure, not from all 13.

All 13 species of squirrels on WAnimals

Each one has its own full entry. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.

Eurasian Red Squirrel

Sciurus vulgaris

47 countries9 parks

Siberian Flying Squirrel

Pteromys volans

11 countries4 parks

Near Threatened

Black Giant Squirrel

Ratufa bicolor

12 countries8 parks

Indian Giant Squirrel

Ratufa indica

7 countries6 parks

South African Ground Squirrel

Xerus inauris

43 countries18 parks

Pallas's Squirrel

Callosciurus erythraeus

25 countries20 parks

Eastern Gray Squirrel

Sciurus carolinensis

6 countries46 parks

Southern Flying Squirrel

Glaucomys volans

5 countries16 parks

Barbary Ground Squirrel

Atlantoxerus getulus

3 countries9 parks

Fox Squirrel

Sciurus niger

3 countries12 parks

Red-bellied Squirrel

Sciurus aureogaster

4 countries11 parks

Eastern Chipmunk

Tamias striatus

3 countries32 parks

Critically Endangered

Namdapha Flying Squirrel

Biswamoyopterus biswasi

1 country1 park

Conservation status

11 Least Concern1 Near Threatened1 Critically Endangered

1 especies in this group están en alguna categoría de riesgo real según la UICN.

See the global conservation status

Where they live

Recorded in 119 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:

Where to see them

Did you know…

Its decline in Britain is down to competition from the introduced American grey squirrel.
From Eurasian Red Squirrel
The grey squirrel carries a virus (a parapoxvirus) that is lethal to red squirrels but harmless to itself.
From Eurasian Red Squirrel
It feeds mainly on conifer seeds, hazelnuts and acorns.
From Eurasian Red Squirrel
It can glide more than 50 metres between trees on a membrane of skin (the patagium) stretched between its front and hind legs.
From Siberian Flying Squirrel
It is the only gliding mammal in Europe, and its presence in a Finnish stand legally requires logging to be limited, which has put it at the centre of a decades-long argument between conservation and the timber industry.
From Siberian Flying Squirrel
A cartilage rod at its wrist, known as the styliform, tensions the edge of the membrane in mid-glide and lets it adjust the wing surface as though it had a flap.
From Siberian Flying Squirrel
It leaps as much as six metres between trees and spends its whole life in the canopy: it is rarely seen on the ground.
From Black Giant Squirrel
Its tail, as long as its body or longer, works at once as a rudder in leaps, a counterweight when running along thin branches and a blanket when it sleeps.
From Black Giant Squirrel

Ecosystems

See every species group · Explore the species one by one