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The fox squirrel (Sciurus niger), also known as the eastern fox squirrel or Bryant's fox squirrel, [3] is the largest species of tree squirrel native to North America.It is sometimes mistaken for the American red squirrel or eastern gray squirrel in areas where the species co-exist, though they differ in size and coloration.
The American red squirrel is variously known as the pine squirrel or piney squirrel, North American red squirrel, chickaree, boomer, or simply red squirrel. The squirrel is a small, 200–250 g (7.1–8.8 oz), diurnal mammal that defends a year-round exclusive territory.
A red squirrel eating hazelnuts Underparts are generally white-cream-coloured Skull of a red squirrel. The red squirrel has a typical head-and-body length of 19 to 23 cm (7.5 to 9.1 in), a tail length of 15 to 20 cm (5.9 to 7.9 in), and a mass of 250 to 340 g (8.8 to 12.0 oz). Males and females are the same size. [8]
The biggest source of food for tree squirrels is tree nuts. Red squirrels store nuts in a single stash (a midden) that tends to dry out, so the seeds don't take root. Fox squirrels and gray squirrels bury nuts over a widespread area (scatterhoarding), and often forget them, resulting in new trees . [51] [52]
Approximately twice the size of a gray squirrel, the southern fox squirrel is considered to be the most variably colored tree squirrel in the world.
The Delta fox squirrel (Sciurus niger subauratus) is a subspecies of fox squirrel found in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. There are two common phases, a glossy solid black phase and a reddish phase that lacks the white markings of the fox squirrels found in the surrounding hill country.
Although complex and controversial, the main factor in the eastern gray squirrel's displacement of the red squirrel is thought to be its greater fitness, hence a competitive advantage over the red squirrel on all measures. [76] Within 15 years of the grey squirrel's introduction to a red squirrel habitat, red squirrel populations are extinct. [77]
The Southern fox squirrel (Sciurus niger niger) is a subspecies of the fox squirrel. They are native to the eastern United States and currently reside in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. They can also be found in parts of southern Virginia, southeastern Alabama, and the pan handle of Florida. [2]