Eastern gray squirrel

Eastern gray squirrel[1]
Temporal range: Late Pleistocene–Recent
↓
[2]
Calls recorded in Surrey, England

Secure  (NatureServe)[4]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Sciuridae
Genus: Sciurus
Subgenus: Sciurus
Species:
S. carolinensis
Binomial name
Sciurus carolinensis
Gmelin, 1788
Subspecies
  • S. c. carolinensis
  • S. c. extimus
  • S. c. fuliginosus
  • S. c. hypophaeus
  • S. c. pennsylvanicus
Native range in red
Synonyms
  • Neosciurus carolinensis[5]
  • S. pennsylvanica
  • S. hiemalis
  • S. leucotis
  • S. fulginosus
  • S. migratorius

The eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), also known, particularly outside of North America, as simply the grey squirrel, is a tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus. It is native to eastern North America, where it is the most prodigious and ecologically essential natural forest regenerator.[6][7] Widely introduced to certain places around the world, the eastern gray squirrel in Europe, in particular, is regarded as an invasive species.

In Europe, Sciurus carolinensis is included since 2016 in the list of Invasive Alien Species of Union concern (the Union list).[8] This implies that this species cannot be imported, bred, transported, commercialized, or intentionally released into the environment in the whole of the European Union.[9]

  1. ^ Thorington, R.W. Jr; Hoffman, R.S. (2005). "Family Sciuridae". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 760. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bentley1994 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cassola, F. (2016). "Sciurus carolinensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T42462A22245728. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T42462A22245728.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  4. ^ "Sciurus carolinensis". Natureserve Explorer. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  5. ^ De Abreu-Jr, Edson Fiedler; Pavan, Silvia E.; Tsuchiya, Mirian T. N.; Wilson, Don E.; Percequillo, Alexandre R.; Maldonado, Jesús E. (2020). "Museomics of tree squirrels: A dense taxon sampling of mitogenomes reveals hidden diversity, phenotypic convergence, and the need of a taxonomic overhaul". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 20 (1): 77. Bibcode:2020BMCEE..20...77D. doi:10.1186/s12862-020-01639-y. PMC 7320592. PMID 32590930. S2CID 220071854.
  6. ^ Goheen, Jacob R.; Swihart, Robert K. (2003). "Food-hoarding behavior of gray squirrels and North American red squirrels in the central hardwoods region: Implications for forest regeneration". Canadian Journal of Zoology. 81 (9): 1636–1639. doi:10.1139/z03-143.
  7. ^ Steele MA, Hadj-Chikh LZ, Hazeltine J (1996). "Caching and Feeding Decisions by Sciurus carolinensis: Responses to Weevil-Infested Acorns". Journal of Mammalogy. 77 (2): 305–314. doi:10.2307/1382802. JSTOR 1382802.
  8. ^ Regulation (EU) No 1143/2014 of July 13, 2016 List of Invasive Alien Species of Union Concern
  9. ^ Regulation (EU) No 1143/2014 of October 22, 2014 On the prevention and management of the introduction and spread of invasive alien species