Pelage Studies of Fox Squirrels (Sciurus Niger Rufiventer)

Abstract

type specimen of Sciurus niger rufiventer (Geoffroy) was collected by Andre Michaux, and his son, F. A. Michaux, both of Paris, during their travels through the wilderness of the Mississippi Valley region. This specimen, No. 556 of the Paris Museum, is described by Osgood (1907) as follows: The entire underparts are rich ferruginous and the upper parts are of the same shade modified by a mixture of blackish; the nose and ears are not appreciably paler than the surrounding parts; the annulations of the hairs, tail, and all general markings are not peculiar. Anthony (1928) describes the color pattern as variable but usually tawny brown grizzled with gray above and pale rufous or yellowish brown below; the nose and ears are never white and the tail is mixed black and tawny rufous. Nevertheless, the writer found that the color pattern of this squirrel is quite variable in individuals taken from the same woodlot. dorsal side commonly ranges from a dark reddish-black to a light grizzled color. latter color is more common in the aged individuals. color of the ventral side ranges from a bright rufous in some year-old animals; and, from dull rufous to a light grayish or dirty white in older individuals. Those with a light rufous color ventrally are relatively rare in that only three of them were handled. All of these were taken in northern Ohio. All of the data on hand, and the opinion of the late A. H. Howell (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) indicate that only one race (S. n. rufiventer) occurs in Ohio. Color anomalies in this squirrel appear to be more or less common, as a number are reported each hunting season. It is believed that there are now records available for almost every possible radical color variation which occurs. following variations have been authenticated. (1) Black Ventrally. Two squirrels were collected in Marion county (in the same woods) which showed the following pattern: Underparts from the lower lip to anus, and extending from the right mid-lateral side to the left mid-lateral side, entirely black. upper parts and tail normal, but with a distinct blackish cast. These were collected three miles east of Prospect, Ohio. (2) Black Dorsally. On September 30, 1938, a hunter in Big Island townsnip, Marion county, shot a squirrel that was completely black dorsally, but normal rufous ventrally. tail was completely black. It was impossible to get the complete skin as the hunter ate the meat and threw the skin into the barnyard, where the writer was able to retrieve the tail, part of the head, a portion of the back, and almost all of the ventral side. (3) White Tails. Five squirrels with white-tipped tails were examined. These were normal in every way except that the tips of the tails (from one to 588