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NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD

Eurasian Red Squirrel

Sciurus (Sciurus) vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758

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.

A red squirrel in the forest (Sciurus vulgaris).

A red squirrel in the forest (Sciurus vulgaris).

Peter Trimming · CC BY 2.0 · Image source

Provider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.

Open encyclopedia reference

The red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris), also called Eurasian red squirrel, is a species of tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus. It is an arboreal and primarily herbivorous rodent and common throughout Eurasia.

Wikipedia contributors, Red squirrel; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T09:09:53.785352+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name
Sciurus (Sciurus) vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758
Name authority
Linnaeus, 1758
Common name
Eurasian Red 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.

  1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
  2. kingdomAnimalia
  3. phylumChordata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. infraphylumGnathostomata
  6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
  7. megaclassTetrapoda
  8. classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
  9. subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
  10. infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
  11. orderRodentia Bowdich, 1821
  12. suborderSciuromorpha Brandt, 1855
  13. familySciuridae Fischer de Waldheim, 1817
  14. subfamilySciurinae Fischer de Waldheim, 1817
  15. tribeSciurini Fischer de Waldheim, 1817
  16. genusSciurus Linnaeus, 1758
  17. subgenusSciurus Linnaeus, 1758
  18. speciesSciurus (Sciurus) vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Sciurus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

SpeciesClassificationSource status
Allen's SquirrelSciurus (Sciurus) alleni Nelson, 1898SciuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Caucasian SquirrelSciurus (Tenes) anomalus Gmelin, 1778SciuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Eastern Gray SquirrelSciurus (Sciurus) carolinensis Gmelin, 1788SciuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Yellow-throated SquirrelSciurus (Guerlinguetus) gilvigularis Wagner, 1842SciuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Bolivian SquirrelSciurus (Guerlinguetus) ignitus (Gray, 1867)SciuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Eastern Fox SquirrelSciurus (Sciurus) niger Linnaeus, 1758SciuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Peters's SquirrelSciurus (Sciurus) oculatus Peters, 1863SciuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Andean SquirrelSciurus (Guerlinguetus) pucheranii (Fitzinger, 1867)SciuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Sanborn's SquirrelSciurus (Guerlinguetus) sanborni Osgood, 1944SciuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Southern Amazon Red SquirrelSciurus (Urosciurus) spadiceus Olfers, 1818SciuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Yucatan SquirrelSciurus (Sciurus) yucatanensis J. A. Allen, 1877SciuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Variegated SquirrelSciurus (Sciurus) variegatoides Ogilby, 1839SciuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant

Browse 219 records assigned to Sciuridae.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Europe & Northern Asia (excluding China)

Southern Asia

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.

  1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=632439 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:79Y2K. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.