Xerus erythropus

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	MAMMALIA	RODENTIA	SCIURIDAE

Scientific Name:

Xerus erythropus

Species Authority:

Desmarest, 1817

Common Name/s:

English	–	Striped Ground Squirrel, Geoffroy's Ground Squirrel
French	–	Ecureuil Géant De Stanger

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Least Concern ver 3.1

Year Published:

2008

Assessor/s:

Grubb, P., Oguge, N. & Ekué, M.R.M.

Reviewer/s:

Amori, G. (Small Nonvolant Mammal Red List Authority) & Temple, H. (Global Mammal Assessment Team)

Justification:
Listed as Least Concern as this is a widespread species, common where it occurs (sometimes abundant), well represented in protected areas, and adaptable to human-modified landscapes.

History:

2004	–	Least Concern
1996	–	Lower Risk/least concern (Baillie and Groombridge 1996)

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	Wide distribution range from Senegal, Guinea and Sierra Leone eastwards through much of West Africa to Sudan, Ethiopia, northern Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, and central Kenya. Not confirmed from Tanzania, though Kingdon (1974) gives a locality record from the north of Tanzania. There is also an isolated record from Mount Marsebeit in Kenya, a moist area where X. rutilus occurs. There is a small population in Morocco in the Souss Plain. Recorded to 2,450 m (in Ethiopia; Yalden et al. 1996).
Countries:	Native: Benin; Burkina Faso; Cameroon; Central African Republic; Chad; Congo; Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; Côte d'Ivoire; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Gambia; Ghana; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Kenya; Mali; Mauritania; Morocco; Niger; Nigeria; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Sudan; Togo; Uganda Presence uncertain: Rwanda; Tanzania, United Republic of
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	Common and widespread, and sometimes quite abundant (for example, in Kenya). In Sierra Leone, this was the most commonly seen squirrel (Grubb et al., 1998). Not common where it occurs in Morocco.
Population Trend:	Stable

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	Wide habitat tolerance, occurring in forest (though more usually secondary forest than primary), swamp forest, mangroves and drier woodland formations. Typically found in cultivated lands in many parts of the range (e.g., Uganda, Morocco, Kenya, Liberia).
Systems:	Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	No major threats. There is some human consumption in a few West African countries, although not so much in Kenya. They are regarded as a pest in some parts of their range. The species is almost domesticated and is bred in intensive production for food in Benin (M.R.M. Ekué pers. comm.).

Major Threat(s):

No major threats. There is some human consumption in a few West African countries, although not so much in Kenya. They are regarded as a pest in some parts of their range. The species is almost domesticated and is bred in intensive production for food in Benin (M.R.M. Ekué pers. comm.).

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	Occurs in several protected areas throughout the range.

Conservation Actions:

Occurs in several protected areas throughout the range.

Citation:	Grubb, P., Oguge, N. & Ekué, M.R.M. 2008. Xerus erythropus. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 25 May 2012.
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