Higher classification Sciurinae | Phylum Chordata Family Sciuridae Scientific name Heliosciurus Rank Genus | |
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Lower classifications Gambian sun squirrel, Red‑legged sun squirrel, Zanj sun squirrel, Mutable sun squirrel, Ruwenzori sun squirrel | ||
Sun squirrels (genus Heliosciurus), form a taxon of squirrels under the subfamily Xerinae and the tribe Protoxerini. They are only found in sub-Saharan Africa.
The habit of basking in the sun on tree branches probably gave this group its common name.
Sun squirrels have been implicated in the spread of human monkeypox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
There are 6 species in the genus:
References
Sun squirrel Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA