20 October 2009 - Selous Game Reserve, Tanzania

Zanj Sun Squirrel or Eastern Sun Squirrel/ Zanj Zonne-eekhoorn (Heliosciurus undulatus)

Identity of this Sun Squirrel not certain. I doubt between Zanj Sun Squirrel (Heliosciurus undulatus) and Mutable Sun Squirrel (Heliosciurus mutabilis). The early morning sun and white balance settings make it hard to ID based on fur colour. However the tail seems to be longer than the body, implying it can be the Zanj Sun Squirrel.

Please leave a comment if you can identify or have good reference sources.

Circumstances:
Early morning (7AM), Selous River Camp. A few 100m from Rufiji River. Selous Game Reserve, Tanzania. Highly active squirrel.

For those who like the biological details:
Click a link and you'll go to the Flickr photo page for that rank in the biological classification.

Phylum: Chordata; Vertebrates / Gewervelden
Class: Mammalia; Mammals / Zoogdieren
Order: Rodentia; Rodents / Knaagdieren
Family: Sciuridae; Squirrels / Eekhoorns
Subfamily: Xerinae; Marmots, Ground Squirrels, Afrian Tree Squirrels / Marmotten, Aardeekhoorns, Palmeekhoorns
Genus: Heliosciurus; Sun Squirrels / Zonne-eekhoorns
Species: Heliosciurus undulatus; Zanj Sun Squirrel or Eastern Sun Squirrel / Zanj Zonne-eekhoorn

Read the complete story about this wildlife encounter at my blog: wildlifespotting.blogspot.com/2010/09/day-50-zanj-sun-squ...