{{Short description|Species of rodent}} {{speciesbox | name = Allen's squirrel | image = Ardilla de Allen - panoramio.jpg | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=de Grammont, P.C. |author2=Cuarón, A. |date=2016 |title=''Sciurus alleni'' |volume=2016 |article-number=e.T20004A22248517 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T20004A22248517.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref> | genus = Sciurus | species = alleni | authority = E. W. Nelson, 1898<ref name="Thorington"/> | range_map = Sciurus alleni range map.svg | range_map_caption = Allen's squirrel range }} '''Allen's squirrel''' ('''''Sciurus alleni''''') is a tree squirrel in the genus ''Sciurus'' endemic to northern Mexico. It has no recognised subspecies.<ref name="Thorington">{{MSW3 Sciuridae | id = 12400092 | pages = 754–818 | heading = ''Sciurus (Sciurus) alleni''}}</ref>
==Description== Allen's squirrels are yellow-brown overall, grizzled with black and grey, with darker heads and lighter sides and legs. A white to buff ring surrounds the eye. The tail is black, sometimes touched with buff or yellow, and frosted white. Melanism is sometimes observed.<ref name="Thorington2012">{{cite book |last1=Thorington |first1=Richard W. |last2=Koprowski |first2=John L. |last3=Steele |first3=Michael A. |last4=Whatton |first4=James F. |date=2012 |title=Squirrels of the World |chapter=''Sciurus alleni'' (Nelson, 1898) Allen's Squirrel |url=https://archive.org/details/squirrelsofworld0000unse/mode/2up |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |page=40-41 |isbn=9781421404691 |access-date=5 Apr 2026}}</ref>
Females tend to have larger body mass than males. Outside of this, the species is not sexually dimorphic.<ref name="Best1995">{{cite journal |last1=Best |first1=Troy L. |date=23 June 1995 |title=''Sciurus alleni'' |url=https://www.science.smith.edu/departments/biology/VHAYSSEN/msi/pdf/i0076-3519-501-01-0001.pdf |journal=Mammalian Species |volume=501 |issue= |publisher=The American Society of Mammalogists |pages=1-4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060411194220/https://www.science.smith.edu/departments/biology/VHAYSSEN/msi/pdf/i0076-3519-501-01-0001.pdf |archive-date=11 April 2006 |url-status=live |doi= |access-date=5 April 2026}}</ref> The typical head and body length is {{convert|220|-|254|mm|in}}, with the tail comprising another {{convert|217|-|247|mm|in}}. Male body mass is typically {{convert|290|-|491|gr|oz}}, while female body mass it typically {{convert|345|-|510|gr|oz}}.<ref name="Thorington2012"/>
==Distribution and habitat== Allen's squirrel lives in northeastern Mexico. Its natural range covers southeastern Coahuila, central Nuevo León, and western Tamaulipas, extending south to the extreme north of San Luis Potosí.<ref name="Thorington2012"/>
Allen's squirrel primarily inhabits oak and oak-pine montane forests.<ref name="Thorington2012"/> It has also been recorded in other mountain forest ecosystems, such as pecan forests in Tamaulipas and in pine-cedar and pine-fir-aspen woods in Cohauila.<ref name="Best1995"/> Its range sometimes extends into similar ecosystems in lowland areas.<ref name="Thorington2012"/>
==Ecology and behavior== Allen's squirrels are diurnal, and forage year-round in tree canopies and on the ground. Nests are made from leaves and twigs among tree branches or within natural cavities in trees. Pregnancies have been observed in all seasons.<ref name="Thorington2012"/>
Allen's squirrel is herbivorous and primarily feeds on tree seeds and fruit; insects and insect larvae also make up a frequent source of food. They occasionally also consume cultivated plants and frogs.<ref name="Thorington2012"/><ref name="Best1995"/>
==Interactions with humans== Allen's squirrels are an occasional agricultural pest, and will feed on cultivated plants including peanuts, maize, oats, tomatoes, grapes, apples, peaches, mangoes, and plums. They can cause particularly damage to cornfields by eating ripening crops.<ref name="Thorington2012"/><ref name="Best1995"/> In turn, logging and the clearing of forest for agriculture are the primary ecological threats to the species.<ref name="Thorington2012"/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
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Category:Endemic mammals of Mexico Category:Sciurus Category:Mammals described in 1898 Category:Taxa named by Edward William Nelson Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
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