Funisciurus pyrropus (F. Cuvier 1833)

Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Rodentia - Family Sciuridae, Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 2, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 754-818 : 792

Funisciurus pyrropus (F. Cuvier 1833)

[Funisciurus] pyrropus (F. Cuvier 1833) , in: E. Geoffroy and F. Cuvier, Hist. Nat. Mammiferes, Vol. 7, No. 66 "Ecureuil aux pieds roux": 2 unno. pp and pl. [1833]; Tab 4: 240 [1842].

Type Locality: Gabon. "...et elle venoit de l'île Fernandopô, dans le gulfe de Guinée..." .

Vernacular Names: Fire-footed Rope Squirrel.

Subspecies: :

Subspecies Funisciurus pyrropus subsp. pyrropus F. Cuvier 1833

Subspecies Funisciurus pyrropus subsp. akka De Winton 1895

Subspecies Funisciurus pyrropus subsp. leonis Thomas 1905

Subspecies Funisciurus pyrropus subsp. leucostigma Temminck 1853

Subspecies Funisciurus pyrropus subsp. mandingo Thomas 1903

Subspecies Funisciurus pyrropus subsp. nigrensis Thomas 1909

Subspecies Funisciurus pyrropus subsp. niveatus Thomas 1923

Subspecies Funisciurus pyrropus subsp. pembertoni Thomas 1904

Subspecies Funisciurus pyrropus subsp. talboti Thomas 1909

Distribution: Gambia, S Senegal, Guinea Bissau, W Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, S Côte d’Ivoire, SW Ghana, W Nigeria, W Cameroon, Rio Muni ( Equatorial Guinea), W Republic of Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Dem. Rep. Congo, NW Angola.

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Cuvier wrote, "Je donnerai à cet Écuriel le nom de Pyrropus , á cause de la couleur rousse de ses pieds." Schinz (1845) spelled the species name pyrrhopus with no mention of the previous spelling. This constitutes an unjustified emendation. Not found on Bioko, Equatorial Guinea (= "Fernandopô", see type locality), and since the animal was a pet, it probably was captured on the mainland ( Thomas, 1890:447).