Sciurus macrowrus, F. Cuv. Diot. des Sc. Net. vol. xiv. 1819, p. 946 (fa p a rt); F k eW , Syc.
Mamm. 1829, pp. 855-856 (in part).
H M Gray, Haad-List Mamm. B. M. 1843, p. 136. (fa | | 1 Blyth, Joam. Ac. See.
Beno- vol. xvi. 1847, p. 868 ; Hodgson, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1855, p. 12b.
Sciurus Llaiaricus, Sebfas, Syr, Mamm. « ! R 1845, p. 33 (fa part) | Jerdon, Mamm. led.
Sciurus (jtatufa) mdicus, Gray, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. xr. 1867, p. 378.
The characters of the Malahar form, the literature regarding -which heads this
notice, may he briefly summed up as f o l l o w s :
The upper surface and the sides of the neck, the shoulders and the outside of
the fore limhs, the lumhar and sacral regions, the outeide of the thighs and the tarl,
are black, the black of the hind quarters heing prolonged forwards along the mesial
line towards the black of the shoulders. A large, dark, maroon spot on the vertex
separated from the maroon of the nape by a yellowish, inter-aural area, which
extends downwards and forwards to the cheeks. A maroon-colouredjine passes
downwards from the front of the ear, with a yellow area behind it. Thesades_of
the face and muzzle are pale-yellowish, the latter heing flesh-co oured. The other
portions of-the trunk and the lower half of the tibial portion of the hind limb are
maroon. The tail is either hlack or maroon-black, sometimes tipped with yellowish-
brown. The whole of the under parte and inside of the limhs, and the hands and
feet, are rich yellowish. T h e ears strongly maroon, and tufted
This species occurs on the Malahar Coast, and extends into Central H U H f
in the southern portion of the former region it appears to be associated with
TTnrWon records it from S! m.anrnurus. tlie Terai region of the Himalaya.
S c it jr u s m a c r o t jr h s , P e n n a n t .
■n 4- Tnii 7 nr,i 1 7RQ l c f pd t) 81. pi. i . ; Syn. Quad. 1771, p. 2 8 1 ; Hist.
1777 p 5 1 8 ; Geogr. Geseh. to! ii. 1780, p . 8 4 0 ; Forster, Indische Zool 1781, p . m R N H I
Bodd. Elench. An. 1786, p. 1 1 7 ; Gmelfa, L fa n . Syst. 1 .
S an ee th . to! It . 1792, p. 783, p ! 217 (Pennant’s fig u re ); Shaw, Gep. £o o l. v o ! n 1801,
p U 9 p ! i . ; Desmarest, N out. D i e t d 'H is t. N a t.
Diet, des Se. Nat. to! P- 246 (fa p art); Is. Geeft S .-Hilaire, Diet. Claes, d Ha*.
N a t toI t ! 1829, p. 71; Fischer, Syn. Mamm. 1829, p. 355 (in p a rt); Gray s Hand-List,
Mamm B. M. 1843, p. 187; Blyth, Joom. As. See. Beng. 1847, to 1 aw. p. 869, pi x nw .
m 3 ; «id . 1849, t 1 XTiii p. 601; « . to ! 1851, p. 165; « M a m m A s^ o e .
Mus 1863, p. 100; Horsfield, Zool. Beseh. Joum. 1824; Cat. Mamm. E. Hid. Co. s Mus_1851,
f U 8 K o lL t, ¿ o o . Zool Soo. 1850, p. 157; ftod..Faun. Zoyl. 1852, p. 49; Jordon, Mamm.
Ind. 1867, p. 168; Gray, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. 1867, p. 275.
. c e , l o u i c u s ^ 4W ; r "m ! u l in s ,' Diet. Class. d’H i s t .N a t Sciurus ceylomcus, Erxleben, Syst. Keg. An. i / u , p- >
Elenoh. An. 1785, p. 1 1 7 ; Dosmarest, Mamm. 1822, p. 385, pi. t o .
fie. 4 : Lesson, Man. de Zool. 1827, p. 285. W tk - 8
Sciurus maximus, Wagner, Schreb. Saugetb. Suppl. vol. n i. 1843, p. 188 (m part).
Sciurus bicolor, Scbinz, Syn. Mamm. vol. n . 1845, p . 38 (in p art).
Sciurus tennenlii, Layard, Blyth, Jo um . As. Soc. Beng. vol. xviii. 1849, p. 6 0 0 ; ibid. vol. xx. 1851,
p. 1 6 5 ; Cat. Mamm. As. Soc. Mus. 1868, p. 100 ;,;Kelaart, Prod. Faun. Zeyl. 1852, p. 50.
Sciurus albiceps,1 Blyth, Joum. As. Soc. Beng. vol. xxviii. 18,59, p. 2 8 7 ; Cat. Mamm. Mus. As. Soc.
1868, p. 100.
Mactoxus (JRukaia) macrourus, Gray, Ann. and Mag. N a t. Hist. vol. xx. 1867, p. 275 (in p a rt).
From the description given by Ray2 of his Ceylon squirrel, there does not
appear to be any doubt that the animal to be hereafter described was the species
to which he referred. After him, Pennant re-described and figured the animal, and
was followed by Erxleben and Zimmermann, and more particularly by Forster, who
adopted Pennant's name of S. macrourus, although it had been erroneously stated
that the tail was twice the length of the body. Boddaert re-described the species
as the Ceylon squirrel, hut altered the name to ceilonensis, and gave a more correct
estimate of the relative proportions of the body and tail, viz., “ cauda longitudme
corporis.” Gmelin in the 13th edition of the Syst. Nat. accepted Pennant’s name
and referred to Schreber’s figure, which is a reproduction of Pennant’s. Pennant
in his 2nd edition of the Indian Zoology extended the distribution to Malabar, and
it is interesting to remark, in connection with this, that Blyth and Jerdon record
examples from Travancore, the Nilgiris, and Bangalore.
The figure given by Pennant does not show the tail to he so long as he makes
it to be in his description; nevertheless, in this error he was followed by Shaw.
After this, Desmarest introduced an element of confusion as far as the term macrowrus
is concerned, for he applied it also to the large, maroon-coloured squirrel of Malabar,
first brought to light by Sonnerat, and in this view he was followed by P. Cuvier.
Desmarest, however, rectified his error in his Mammalogie, and distinguished between
the two species and reproduced Pennant’s figure.
Is. Geoff. St.-Hilaire also separated the Ceylon form as S. ceylonensis, and
Fischer kept it distinct under the name S. macrourus, hut erroneously regarded it
as the same as the Java squirrel described by Horsfield.
The Ceylon specimen figured by Blyth8 (from Dr. R. Templeton of Colombo)
measured 2 feet long, of which the tail was half, its hair reaching 1-50 inch further.
Colour of the upper parts dull brownish-black, much grizzled with whitish tips on
the sides, croup and haunches, and slightly on the back and shoulders, the croup
having numerous bufly-white hairs intermixed; basal three-fifths of the tail hlack,
with long, white tips to the hairs, and a white, median line underneath, the rest, or
terminal portion, brown, with less conspicuously developed, white tips, except at the
very end, where they gradually disappear; cheeks, under parts and limbs almost
pure white, with a slightly fulvescent tinge; but there is an abruptly defined, blackish
patch on the upper portion of the fore limhs externally, passing upward to the
shoulder; a corresponding, grizzled patch on the hind limbs continuous with the
colouring of the croup and haunches; the toes of all the feet are blackish; there
is also a hlack patch on the crown of the head, and a few blackish hairs on
1 This term j § | keen previously applied by Wagner to a Mexican squirrel. Abhandl. Akad. Munscben, vol. ii. •
Schreber, pi. coxxiii, D.
* Quad. (1693), p. 216. s L t c > p> 869>