synonymLeopard rat(Leopard mouse) generally refers to the striped squirrel
Hidden striped squirrel, alias: chipmunk, leopard mouse,[10]It is a genus of striped squirrels belonging to Rodentia Squirrel Family.[11]It looks like a chipmunk, with a body length of 110-120 mm;The tail is almost the same length as the body, with fluffy tail hair, and gradually narrows to the tail tip;Four toes on the front foot, five toes on the back foot, with hook like claws;The back hair color is grayish brown from the forehead to the back, and the hair base is dark gray;There is an obvious black stripe in the middle of the back, two brown or light yellow longitudinal stripes on both sides, two black brown longitudinal stripes on the outside, and two light yellow or light yellow white longitudinal stripes on the outside;There are white stripes on both cheeks to the base of the ear, but they are not connected with the outermost stripes on the back;The dorsal side of the ear shell edge has short tufts of hair, with black base and white tip;This is different from the appearance of the chipmunk;The belly hair is grayish yellow, the hair base is gray, and the upper half is grayish yellow;The skull is round and convex, the snout is wide and sharp, and the nose and forehead are flat and concave, which are different from the chipmunks.[10]
The striped squirrel is distributed in Hebei, Hunan, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Sichuan, Gansu and other provinces in China.[10]The striped squirrel is an arboreal animal and often lives on the ground. It lives in forests, forest edges, shrubs and bamboo forests;Most of them build nests at branches' forks, and also use tree holes and roots to make nests;They eat all kinds of berries, nuts and insects;Frequent morning and evening activities, less activity at noon;They like to live in groups, and also act alone or in pairs. They can reproduce twice a year.[10]
Because of its feeding activities, the striped squirrel often causes certain harm to crops, fruit trees, forest regeneration and tree seeding, but the number is small, so the degree of harm is not significant.Although its fur can be made into fur, its quality is poor and it belongs to second-class leather.[12]
Body resemblanceChipmunkBut slightly smaller.The tail length is slightly shorter than the body length, 115~158mm in body length, and 85~130mm in tail length.The tail hair is longer, and the end of the tail gradually tapers.The forefoot palms are exposed, with 2 palmar pads and 3 finger pads;The rear foot is exposed.There are 2 plantar pads, the lateral ones are slightly larger, and 5 toe pads.There are 4 fingers on the front foot and 5 toes on the back foot, and the claws are hook shaped.Obvious ear shell, ear length 9~16mm;The anterior part of the interorbital space is wide and flat. The supraorbital process is located in the posterior part of the interorbital space, and the interorbital space is 11-13.2mm wide.Female has 3 pairs of nipples, 1 pair of abdomen, and 2 pairs of mice.[1]
Coat color
Tamiops swinhoei
There is an obvious black stripe in the middle of the back, two brown or light yellow longitudinal stripes on both sides, two black brown longitudinal stripes on the outside, and two light yellow or light yellow white longitudinal stripes on the outside.There are white stripes on both cheeks to the base of the ear, but they are not connected with the outermost stripes on the back.The dorsal side of the ear shell edge has short tufts of hair with black base and white tip.The belly coat is grayish yellow, the hair base is gray, and the upper half is grayish yellow.The tail hair is dark brown yellow at the base, black at the middle, and light yellow at the tip.
skull
CraniumThe part is round and convex, the snout is short and sharp, the front of the interorbital part is wide and relatively flat, and the supraorbital process is located in the posterior part of the interorbital part.The nasal bone has obvious enlargement at the apex, and the junction with the frontal bone is relatively flat and concave.The front of the cheekbone is flat and wide, slightly inward inclined, and the middle is not particularly protruding, with moderate auditory bubbles.[2]
tooth
Tooth type=11。The upper teeth are narrow and straight, and there is no obvious notch on the trailing edge.The third upper premolar is very small, only 2.6~3mm long, and its back end is far away from the first premolar.If the crown surface is prototype, there is no central pillar.The incisor hole is very narrow and short, and the upper buccal tooth row is about 7.2mm long.
Habitat environment
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It widely inhabits various forest types, mainly subtropical forestsForest marginandShrubberyThe vertical distribution is dominated by the middle altitude, generally 400 to 1200 meters above sea level, and the highest oak forest is 2600 meters above sea level.[3]
Life habits
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Feeding habits
Tamiops swinhoei
The striped squirrel is an omnivore.According to observation and anatomy, the stomach contents of six flower squirrels mainly feed on various seeds, buds, fir trees, pine nuts, chestnuts, lichens, bark and insects.Dead rats are occasionally eaten in winter.You can eat rice, noodles, egg yolks, pork and other residues near the house.
It takes 9.9 seconds on average for the chipmunks to feed once.When ingesting, the body is supported by the hind limbs, and the food is picked up by the mouth, and chewed after being held by the forelimbs.Sometimes no forelimb is needed.After feeding, they will stay in the tree, chew or wipe the trunk with their mouths.In the two-hour activity, the time for foraging is about 56 minutes, and the time for staying and playing in trees is 61 minutes.The feeding and activity times of flower squirrels are almost equal, so the allocation of feeding time of flower squirrels is related to their lack of cheek pouches and their inability to temporarily store food.[4]
activity
Tamiops swinhoei
Although arboreal, the striped squirrel is often active on the ground. It is usually most active in the morning or dusk. It often moves alone or in groups, and also runs in groups on trees. Its range of activity is small, and it often appears in orchards or vegetable gardens.They usually move by leaps and bounds.When climbing the trunk, they often climb along the trunk in a zigzag shape.When descending the tree, head down, quickly move to the base of the trunk, and finally jump to the ground.After feeding or during feeding, there are chasing and playing with each other.
The striped squirrel usually does not make a sound when evading the enemy. It is alert and ready for the enemy at any time. Its action shows that it quickly climbs up the tree and immediately turns its head down to avoid the attack of the enemy.In case of human interference, quickly crawl around the tree trunk or jump to other trees to avoid attack.Sometimes it is only a few centimeters away from the ground, and it does not go down.[4]
rest
The rest of the striped squirrel includes going back to sleep or stopping in the tree to bask in the sun.The posture on the branch is that the tail naturally bends under the hind legs, the head rests on the forelegs, and the eyes open;The posture on the tree trunk is to lie flat on the tree trunk, with the tail and neck straight, and the forelegs grasp the tree trunk separately to both sides, or the forelegs close to the abdomen, and the hind legs naturally straighten backward.The latter often appears on trees with sunshine in winter and spring.[4]
Nest
The nest of the striped squirrel is often built in the fork or hole of the fir tree, and the junction of the trunk and branch of the tree is used as the base,moss and lichen、China firSkin is used as material to make nests under tree roots or tree mats, and occasionally, old bird nests are used to build nests in roof tile ditches or eaves cracks.[4]
Distribution range
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The striped squirrel is distributed in Yunnan in ChinaLijiangRegions, Southwest Sichuan, Guizhou, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Fujian, Taiwan, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Anhui, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Hebei, Beijing, Shaanxi, Gansu, Southeast Tibet and other places;[5]Distributed outside ChinaMyanmarandIndochinanorth.[6]
Reproductive mode
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Tamiops swinhoei
The striped squirrel breeds twice a year, once in spring and once in autumn.There are 2 to 4 per tire and 4 to 6 per tire.The mating behavior is that the male chases the female from the ground to the tree.The two are close in the tree.The female body does not move, and the male body actively approaches, sniffs her anus, and then holds her waist with his forelimbs. After a few seconds, the male body quickly leaves.During the chase, the female and male individuals kept making subtle cries of "zhi zhi".At the same time, males also often make "de luo" calls.The cries were all rapid.The male body appears anxious and restless, looking for the female body, which usually lasts for 3 to 5 minutes.[4]
ListedState Forestry AdministrationList of Terrestrial Wildlife Protected by the State that is Beneficial or of Important Economic and Scientific Research Value, issued on August 1, 2000.[8]
Listed in the Commodity Catalogue of Import and Export of Endangered Animal and Plant Species.[9]
It has been listed in the List of Terrestrial Wildlife with Important Ecological, Scientific and Social Values.[13]
