Vincent's bush squirrel

The Vincent- squirrel ( Paraxerus vincenti ) is a poorly understood Hörnchenart from the kind of African Bush Squirrel ( Paraxerus ). It is endemic to the Monte Namuli in Mozambique. The specific epithet honors the British Ornithologists Jack Vincent, who collected the type specimen in August 1932.

Features

The Vincent- squirrel is a medium sized to large squirrel, which reached a head -body length of 208 mm and a tail length of 213.5 mm in females. The males reach a head -body length of 214.7 mm and a tail length of 206 mm. The coat on his back, the limbs and the top of the feet are gray black. The peritoneum, the snout and the eye region are reddish brown deep. The top of the head and cheeks are dark brown. The long tail is black -brown with a reddish brown top. The Vincent Croissant similar to Rotschwanzhörnchen ( Paraxerus palliatus ), the peritoneum is reddish brown but darker.

Occurrence, habitat and behavior

The Vincent Croissant is known only by the evergreen moist forests on Mount Namuli north of the Zambezi, where it occurs at altitudes 1200-1850 m. Due to the two-decade civil war in Mozambique, there have been only a few expeditions in this region, so that his life has not yet been explored.

Status

The IUCN classifies the Vincent Croissant in the category of " high risk " ( endangered ). The forest on Mount Namuli is threatened by slash and burn, cultivation and logging. Apparently the species is also hunted for human consumption.