Gray squirrel or grey squirrel may refer to several species of squirrel indigenous to North America:
The eastern gray squirrel, also known, particularly outside of North America, as simply the grey squirrel, is a tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus. It is native to eastern North America, where it is the most prodigious and ecologically essential natural forest regenerator. Widely introduced to certain places around the world, the eastern gray squirrel in Europe, in particular, is regarded as an invasive species.
The red squirrel is a species of tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus common throughout Europe and Asia. The red squirrel is an arboreal, primarily herbivorous rodent.
The fox squirrel, also known as the eastern fox squirrel or Bryant's fox squirrel, is the largest species of tree squirrel native to North America. Despite the differences in size and coloration, it is sometimes mistaken for American red squirrels or eastern gray squirrels in areas where the species co-exist.
The genus Sciurus contains most of the common, bushy-tailed squirrels in North America, Europe, temperate Asia, Central America and South America.
Black squirrels are a melanistic subgroup of squirrels with black coloration on their fur. The phenomenon occurs with several species of squirrels, although it is most frequent with the eastern gray squirrel and the fox squirrel. Black morphs of the eastern gray and fox squirrels are the result of an abnormal pigment gene. Several theories have surfaced as to why the black morph occurs, with some suggesting that the black morph is a selective advantage for squirrels inhabiting the northern ranges of the species, with the black-fur providing a thermal advantage over its non-melanistic counterpart.
The Brazilian squirrel is a tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus endemic to South America. It is found in South-eastern Colombia, Brazil, Guyana, French Guiana, Suriname and Venezuela.
The Bolivian squirrel is a tree squirrel that is endemic to South America. Little is known of the species, which may represent a species complex.
The yellow-throated squirrel is a tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus endemic to South America. It is found in Brazil, Guyana and Venezuela.
The Arizona gray squirrel is a tree squirrel, in the genus Sciurus, endemic to the canyons and valleys surrounded by deciduous and mixed forests in eastern Arizona and northern Mexico.
Collie's squirrel is a tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus endemic to Mexico.
The fiery squirrel is a rodent in the family Sciuridae. The taxon is endemic to the area south of the Orinoco River in the state of Bolívar, Venezuela.
The red-tailed squirrel is a species of tree squirrel distributed from southern Central America to northern South America.
The Mexican fox squirrel(Sciurus nayaritensis) is a species of tree squirrel found throughout the Sierra Madre Occidental of Mexico as far south as Jalisco — and northward into the Chiricahua Mountains of southeastern Arizona, U.S.
Peters's squirrel is a tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus endemic to Mexico. It was first described by the German naturalist and explorer Wilhelm Peters in 1863. Three subspecies are recognised. It is a common species, and the IUCN has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".
The Andean squirrel is a tree squirrel endemic to Colombia where it inhabits montane rain forest and cloud forests of the Cordillera Occidental and Cordillera Central ranges of the Colombian Andes, at elevations between 2,000 and 3,300 metres. It is a small species with a body length of about 14 cm (6 in) and a similar length tail. It has soft, silky, reddish-brown fur, a darker tail and yellowish-grey underparts. It is thought to be diurnal but has been little studied, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being data deficient.
The Guayaquil squirrel is a tree squirrel endemic to Ecuador and Peru. It is a robust squirrel with a head-and-body length of 18 to 32 cm and a similar length tail. The colour is variable; in Peru, a pale morph is more common, while in Ecuador, most individuals have darker grey fur on the forequarters, dull orange hindquarters. A melanistic morph is sometimes seen. It lives largely in trees and is diurnal, feeding on seeds, flowers, and other plant material, fungi and some insects. These squirrels are also found in urban areas, living in close proximity to humans, and may be vectors for leptospirosis and Chagas disease. This squirrel faces no particular threats, has a wide range and is relatively common, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated it as being of "least concern".
The Yucatan squirrel, originally named the Yucatan gray squirrel, also once named the Campeche squirrel, is a tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus found in the Yucatán Peninsula and adjacent areas. It is native to northern Belize, northeastern Guatemala, and southeast Mexico.
Sherman's fox squirrel is a subspecies of the fox squirrel. It lives in the US states of Florida and Georgia in fire-prone areas of longleaf pine and wiregrass, especially around sandhills. A tree squirrel, the Sherman's fox species has lost much of its habitat to farming and development. This type of squirrel nests in oak trees using leaves and Spanish moss.
The Calabrian black squirrel is a species of tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus, endemic to the forests of the regions of Calabria and Basilicata, in the south of the Italian Peninsula.
