Squirrel

Article By:

Linzey, Donald W. Wytheville Community College, Wytheville, Virginia.

Last reviewed:August 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.649900

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• Squirrel, published June 2014:Download PDF Get Adobe Acrobat Reader

A rodent in the family Sciuridae. Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae in the mammalian order Rodentia. The squirrel family includes all tree squirrels and flying (gliding) squirrels, as well as squirrels that live on the ground, such as woodchucks, marmots, chipmunks, and prairie dogs. There are at least 50 living genera and more than 270 species of squirrels living in a wide variety of habitats, ranging through tropical rainforests, tundra, alpine meadows, and semiarid deserts, in Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, and most of South Africa. They are absent from Australia, Madagascar, Polynesia, and the Sahara Desert. Locomotion is plantigrade (walking with the whole sole of the foot touching the ground). Sensitive vibrissae are present on the head, feet, and outsides of the legs. The dental formula is I 1/1, C 0/0, Pm 1 or 2/1, M 3/3 for a total of 20 or 22 teeth. The incisors grow continually throughout the animal's life. See also: Chipmunk; Dentition; Marmot; Prairie dog; Rodentia; Zoogeography

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