About Sciurotamias davidianus (Milne-Edwards, 1867)
Common Names
Père David's rock squirrel, with the scientific name Sciurotamias davidianus, is also commonly called the Chinese rock squirrel.
Taxonomy
It is a rodent species that belongs to the family Sciuridae.
Distribution
This species is endemic to China, and it is widely distributed across rocky habitats in eastern and central regions of the country.
Appearance
This mostly terrestrial squirrel has an overall dull olive-grey coat, with paler underparts, a clear pale eye-ring, and a dark patch on its cheeks.
Species Confusion
It has sometimes been confused with Pallas's squirrel, which is a quite different species that has very variable fur color.
Misidentification Case
An introduced population of Pallas's squirrel in Belgium was first mistakenly identified as Père David's rock squirrel.
