NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Congo Rope Squirrel
Funisciurus congicus (Kuhl, 1820)
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 Congo rope squirrel (Funisciurus congicus) is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo south of the Congo River, western Angola, and northern Namibia. It is mainly associated with dense woodland, but in Namibia also with vegetation on granite outcrops. It is diurnal and arboreal, but also forages on the ground.
Wikipedia contributors, Congo rope squirrel; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:16:22.858973+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Funisciurus congicus (Kuhl, 1820)
- Name authority
- (Kuhl, 1820)
- Common name
- Congo Rope Squirrel
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Sciuridae
- Genus
- Funisciurus
- 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
- genusFunisciurus Trouessart, 1880
- speciesFunisciurus congicus (Kuhl, 1820)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Funisciurus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Carruther's Mountain SquirrelFunisciurus carruthersi Thomas, 1906 | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Kintampo Rope SquirrelFunisciurus substriatus de Winton, 1899 | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ribboned Rope SquirrelFunisciurus lemniscatus (Le Conte, 1857) | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Du Chaillu's Rope SquirrelFunisciurus duchaillui Sanborn, 1953 | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Funisciurus praetextus (Wagner, 1843) (Wagner, 1843) | synonym |
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=632359 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:6K3CQ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.