Mexican gray squirrel
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Sciuridae
Genus:	Sciurus
Species:	S. aureogaster
Binomial name
Sciurus aureogaster F. Cuvier, 1829
Subspecies[2]
S. a. aureogaster S. a. nigrescens
Mexican gray squirrel range

The Mexican gray squirrel (or red-bellied squirrel) (Sciurus aureogaster) is a tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus native to Guatemala and eastern and southern Mexico. It has been introduced to the Florida Keys.^[3][1]

The alternate name should not be confused with the Indonesian red-bellied squirrel (Rubrisciurus rubriventer) or the Asian red-bellied tree squirrel (Callosciurus erythraeus).

Behaviour

Since the introduction of the species to Florida in the late 1930s, its nesting locations have become more irregular, nesting in varying species of trees and even choosing to nest in hurricane debris.^[4][5]

Ecology

Sciurus aureogaster has had an extremely negative impact on Thrinax radiata populations on Elliot Key. It uses palm fibers as nesting materials and consumes the palm itself, often killing the plant.^[6]

Subspecies

The two subspecies each have many synonyms associated with them:^[2]

• The subspecies S. a. aureogaster was also known as S. a. chrysogaster, S. a. ferruginiventris, S. a. hypopyrrhus, S. a. hypoxanthus, S. a. leucogaster, S. a. maurus, S. a. morio, S. a. mustelinus, S. a. raviventer and S. a. rufiventris.
• The subspecies S. a. nigrescens was also known as S. a. affinis, S. a. albipes, S. a. cervicalis, S. a. chiapensis, S. a. cocos, S. a. colimensis, S. a. effugius, S. a. frumentor, S. a. griseoflavus, S. a. hernandezi, S. a. hirtus, S. a. leucops, S. a. littoralis, S. a. nelsoni, S. a. nemoralis, S. a. perigrinator, S. a. poliopus, S. a. quercinus, S. a. rufipes, S. a. senex, S. a. socialis, S. a. tepicanus, S. a. varius and S. a. wagneri.