Squirrels from the Mariana Islands (south-western Pacific) in the Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, with notes on the mammalian fauna of this Micronesian archipelago

Abstract

Two mounted skins of squirrels allegedly originating from the Mariana islands, Micronesia (south western Pacific Ocean) are held in the collections of the Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden. They may have been collected in the course of a French scientific expedition, commanded by Louis-Claude De Saulses de Freycinet, in 1819. This paper discusses the identifies of the two specimens, their place in the list of mammals recorded from the Mariana Islands, and reflects on the origins of the Mariana Islands' mammalian fauna.