Squirrel

:This article is about the animal. For the programming language, see Squirrel programming language.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Many, see the article Sciuridae.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Squirrel is the common name for rodents of the family Sciuridae. In everyday speech in the English-speaking world it usually refers to members of the genera Sciurus and Tamiasciurus. These typical members of the family are tree squirrels with large bushy tails, and are native to Europe, Asia and the Americas. Similar genera are found in Africa. However, the Sciuridae also include flying squirrels, and ground squirrels such as the chipmunks, prairie dogs, and woodchucks. The unrelated family Anomaluridae also have "squirrel" in their common name, though they are usually referred to as "scaly-tailed flying squirrels". The original translation of the word "squirrel" literally means "animal with the tail that casts a shadow." It comes from Greek, the syllables skia meaning shadow and oura meaning tail.

Related Topics:
Rodent - Sciuridae - Genera - Sciurus - Tamiasciurus - Flying squirrel - Chipmunk - Prairie dog - Woodchuck - Anomaluridae

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A male is a buck. A female is a doe. Babies are kits (male) or kittens (female), and collectively pups. A group of squirrels is a dray.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~