Andean Squirrel
Sciurus (Guerlinguetus) pucheranii (Fitzinger, 1867)
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.

Andean Squirrel - Cartagena, Colombia - December 2015
AlexBeck08 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Andean squirrel (Sciurus pucheranii) is a tree squirrel endemic to Colombia where it inhabits montane rain forest and cloud forests of the Cordillera Occidental and Cordillera Central ranges of the Colombian Andes, at elevations between 2,000 and 3,300 metres (6,600 and 10,800 ft). It is a small species with a body length of about 14 cm (6 in) and a similar length tail. It has soft, silky, reddish-brown fur, a darker tail and yellowish-grey underparts. It is thought to be diurnal but has been little studied, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being data deficient.
Wikipedia contributors, Andean squirrel; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:22:13.466278+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Sciurus (Guerlinguetus) pucheranii (Fitzinger, 1867)
- Name authority
- (Fitzinger, 1867)
- Common name
- Andean Squirrel
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Sciuridae
- Genus
- Sciurus
- 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
- subfamilySciurinae Fischer de Waldheim, 1817
- tribeSciurini Fischer de Waldheim, 1817
- genusSciurus Linnaeus, 1758
- subgenusGuerlinguetus Gray, 1821
- speciesSciurus (Guerlinguetus) pucheranii (Fitzinger, 1867)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Sciurus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Allen's SquirrelSciurus (Sciurus) alleni Nelson, 1898 | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Caucasian SquirrelSciurus (Tenes) anomalus Gmelin, 1778 | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Eastern Gray SquirrelSciurus (Sciurus) carolinensis Gmelin, 1788 | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Yellow-throated SquirrelSciurus (Guerlinguetus) gilvigularis Wagner, 1842 | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bolivian SquirrelSciurus (Guerlinguetus) ignitus (Gray, 1867) | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Eastern Fox SquirrelSciurus (Sciurus) niger Linnaeus, 1758 | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Peters's SquirrelSciurus (Sciurus) oculatus Peters, 1863 | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Sanborn's SquirrelSciurus (Guerlinguetus) sanborni Osgood, 1944 | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Southern Amazon Red SquirrelSciurus (Urosciurus) spadiceus Olfers, 1818 | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Yucatan SquirrelSciurus (Sciurus) yucatanensis J. A. Allen, 1877 | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Variegated SquirrelSciurus (Sciurus) variegatoides Ogilby, 1839 | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Eurasian Red SquirrelSciurus (Sciurus) vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 | 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=632432 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.
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:4VNDQ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.