# Fiery squirrel

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The **fiery squirrel** (***Sciurus flammifer***) is a [rodent](/source/Rodent) in the family [Sciuridae](/source/Sciuridae).[1][2] The taxon is [endemic](/source/Endemic) to the area south of the [Orinoco River](/source/Orinoco_River) in the state of [Bolívar](/source/Bol%C3%ADvar_(state)), [Venezuela](/source/Venezuela).[3][2][4]

## Taxonomy

The taxon was first described as a species in 1904 by [Michael Rogers Oldfield Thomas](/source/Oldfield_Thomas). In 1914 [Joel Asaph Allen](/source/Joel_Asaph_Allen) designated it as the type species for his new monotypic genus *Hadrosciurus*. In 1927 Oldfield Thomas subsumed *Hadrosciurus* to a subgenus of *Sciurus*. In 1928 Oldfield Thomas reduced subgenus *Urosciurus* into synonymy with subgenus *Hadrosciurus*, and moved [*Urosciurus pyrrhinus*](/source/Jun%C3%ADn_red_squirrel) and [*U. igniventris*](/source/Northern_Amazon_red_squirrel) to *Hadrosciurus*. In 1940 Ellerman moved the new additions to subgenus *Hadrosciurus* to subgenus *Guerlinguetus*, returning it to monotypy. In 1959 Moore raised subgenus *Guerlinguetus* to the rank of genus in which he included all larger South American squirrels, and moved the monotypic subgenus *Hadrosciurus* from genus *Sciurus* to *Guerlinguetus*, including the *Urosciurus* species in subgenus *Hadrosciurus*. Cabrera (posthumously) in 1961 used Oldfield Thomas's taxonomic interpretation. Moore was not as widely followed as Cabrera. In 2005 Thorington & Hoffmann used *Urosciurus*, mistakenly attributing Moore, although it was Patton who resurrected *Urosciurus* in 1984. Cranial studies by Hershkovitz in 1959 and especially Patton in 1984 give credence to splitting these squirrels from *Sciurus*.[2]

In 2015 de Vivo & Carmignotto reduced this taxon to a subspecies of [*Hadrosciurus igniventris*](/source/Northern_Amazon_red_squirrel).[2]

## Description

This is a large tree squirrel up to 60 cm long from head to tail. The back is black, the hairs heavily tinged with streaks of pale yellow to orange, with orange to red limbs, an orange tail, and a white abdomen. It has conspicuous pale orange patches of fur behind the ears.[2] Complete [melanism](/source/Melanism) and partial [albinism](/source/Albinism) have been documented.[5]

## Distribution

The taxon occurs in Venezuela in the state of [Bolívar](/source/Bol%C3%ADvar_(state)) south of the [Orinoco River](/source/Orinoco_River). Published sources disagree regarding the precise distribution: Thorington & Hoffman state it is found south of the Orinoco from the Colombian border to [Ciudad Bolívar](/source/Ciudad_Bolivar) at the confluence of the [Río Caroní](/source/Caron%C3%AD_River) into the Orinoco (thus east of the Caroní),[1] whereas de Vivo & Carmignotto give it south of the Orinoco and to the west of the Río Caroní to the Guyana border, to the Brazilian border at the [Serra de Pacaraima](/source/Pacaraima_Mountains).[2] Both may be correct; specimens have been collected in the municipalities of [Cedeño](/source/Cede%C3%B1o_Municipality,_Bol%C3%ADvar) (Caura River near La Union, Mocho River, Suapure), [Gran Sabana](/source/Gran_Sabana_Municipality) (19 Km NE Icabaru in the Pacaraima), Heres (Ciudad Bolívar), and [Sucre](/source/Sucre_Municipality,_Bol%C3%ADvar) (El Yagual).[6]

## Habitat and behaviour

Fiery squirrels are found mainly in closed-canopy lowland rainforest, either primary old-growth woodland or disturbed secondary growth, in the southern part of the upper Orinoco drainage.[2]

Fiery squirrels are highly arboreal and spend most of their time foraging high within the canopies of dense tree cover, which makes their behavior difficult to observe.[5] The behaviour of this particular taxon is presumably similar to *Hadrosciurus igniventris* ssp. *igniventris*; diurnal, territorial and solitary, arboreal and found at all heights from canopy to ground level, building large and well-hidden spherical nests in trees, and feeding on the large nuts of [*Attalea* palm](/source/Attalea_(plant)), as well as other tree nuts, fruit, and beetle grubs.[2]

## Similar species

The range is not sympatric with other large squirrels. *Hadrosciurus igniventris* ssp. *igniventris*, which occurs to the south and east of its range and is most similar to it, is distinguished by having a red abdomen and lacking conspicuous lighter-coloured patches of fur behind the ears. *Hadrosciurus igniventris* ssp. *cocalis* has a yellowish-orange abdomen and has conspicuous orange patches behind the ears.[2]

## Conservation

Baillie writing in 1996 for the IUCN rated it as Lower Risk/least concern.[4] In the latest assessment for the IUCN by Amori, Koprowski & Roth in 2008 the largely unknown taxon was given a Data Deficient rating, although they mention their concern due to its restricted range and the effects of deforestation.[3]

## References

1. Thorington, R.W. Jr. & Hoffmann, R.S. (2005). ["Sciurus (Hadrosciurus) flammifer"](http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3). *Mammal Species of the World: a taxonomic and geographic reference*. 3rd ed. The Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 754–818. ISBN 0-8018-8221-4. [OCLC 26158608](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/26158608). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20130620141013/http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/) 2013-06-20 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2018-08-12.

1. de Vivo, Mario & Carmignotto, Ana Paula (January 2015). ["Family Sciuridae G. Fischer, 1817"](https://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/M/bo18553844.html). *Mammals of South America Volume 2, Rodents*. 1 ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 16–19. [doi:10.7208/chicago/9780226169606.001.0001](https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226169606.001.0001). ISBN 978-0-226-16957-6. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20180811164509/https://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/M/bo18553844.html) 11 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 11 August 2018.

1. Amori, G.; Koprowski, J.; Roth, L. (2019). "*Sciurus flammifer*". Vol. 2019. [doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-1.RLTS.T20008A22248223.en](https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-1.RLTS.T20008A22248223.en). Retrieved 16 November 2021.

1. Baillie, J. (1996). "Sciurus flammifer". *2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species*. IUCN.

1. Thorington, Richard W.; Koprowski, John L.; Steele, Michael A.; Whatton, James F. (2012). ["*Sciurus flammifer* (Thomas, 1904) Fiery Squirrel"](https://archive.org/details/squirrelsofworld0000unse/mode/2up). *Squirrels of the World*. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 50-51. ISBN 9781421404691. [OCLC 821734054](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/821734054). Retrieved 1 Jun 2026.

1. ["*Sciurus flammifer* Thomas, 1904"](https://www.gbif.org/species/5219671). *GBIF Backbone Taxonomy - Checklist dataset*. GBIF Secretariat. 2017. [doi:10.15468/39omei](https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20180814134950/https://www.gbif.org/species/5219671) 14 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 12 August 2018.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Fiery squirrel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiery_squirrel) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiery_squirrel?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.