NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Red Bush Squirrel
Paraxerus palliatus (Peters, 1852)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The red bush squirrel or red-bellied coast squirrel (Paraxerus palliatus) is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae, which is found in bush and forest along the eastern seaboard of Africa. It is closely related to P. lucifer, P. vexillarius and P. (p.) vincenti.
Wikipedia contributors, Red bush squirrel; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:08:50.607879+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Paraxerus palliatus (Peters, 1852)
- Name authority
- (Peters, 1852)
- Common name
- Red Bush Squirrel
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Sciuridae
- Genus
- Paraxerus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderRodentia Bowdich, 1821
- suborderSciuromorpha Brandt, 1855
- familySciuridae Fischer de Waldheim, 1817
- subfamilyXerinae Osborn, 1910
- tribeProtoxerini Moore, 1959
- genusParaxerus Forsyth Major, 1893
- speciesParaxerus palliatus (Peters, 1852)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Paraxerus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Smith's Bush SquirrelParaxerus cepapi (A. Smith, 1836) | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Striped Bush SquirrelParaxerus flavovittis (Peters, 1852) | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black and Red Bush SquirrelParaxerus lucifer (Thomas, 1897) | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ochre Bush SquirrelParaxerus ochraceus (Huet, 1880) | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Green Bush SquirrelParaxerus poensis (A. Smith, 1830) | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Alexander's Bush SquirrelParaxerus alexandri (Thomas & Wroughton, 1907) | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Boehm's Bush SquirrelParaxerus boehmi (Reichenow, 1886) | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Cooper's Mountain SquirrelParaxerus cooperi Hayman, 1950 | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Svynnerton's Bush SquirrelParaxerus vexillarius (Kershaw, 1923) | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Vincent's Bush SquirrelParaxerus vincenti Hayman, 1950 | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=632400 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4DJ3Q. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.