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Barbary ground squirrel - ATLANTOXERUS GETULUS
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
The Name "Squirrel": "Squirrel" comes from the Middle English word
"squyrel," which came from the Greek "skiouros" for the animal.
Notice that the family name for these animals is "Sciuridae," which
may also be the derivation of our word "scurry." "Barbary" refers to the northern countries of Africa, known as the Barbary Coast, in which area this squirrel is found.
Location: Northwest Africa.
Habitat: Terrestrial. Arid and rocky environments; scrub.
Description: The coat is short and hard and there is a conspicuous white stripe along each side of the body. Occasionally there is also a white stripe down the back. The coat is often reddish brown but is quite variable in color. The whitish stripes may be separated by blackish stripes. This squirrel is about two feet long, half of that tail. It weighs upwards of two pounds.
Behavior: This is the only species of squirrel that is found in Africa north of the Sahara, and it is not well known. Believed to be solitary, it is active in the early morning and toward dusk, and spends the rest of the day in its burrow or den. It feeds on seeds and fruit, especially those of one specific species of tree. It is thought that it migrates whenever the population has become too large for the foodstock available in a given area.
Reproduction: Unknown.
Go to the Rodents Page to learn more about all the gnawing animals.
Or go to the Squirrel Index to study other
squirrels.
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