What is "microsciurus"

Microsciurus or dwarf squirrels is a genus of squirrels from the tropical regions of Central and South America.

There are four recognized species, however, recent DNA analysis has shown that there is some confusion regarding the traditional classification of the Microsciurus species:

Genus Microsciurus - dwarf squirrels

• Central American dwarf squirrel, Microsciurus alfari Allen, 1895, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Northern Colombia
• Amazon dwarf squirrel, Microsciurus flaviventer Gray, 1867, western Amazon basin
• Western dwarf squirrel, Microsciurus mimulus Thomas, 1898, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama
• Santander dwarf squirrel, Microsciurus santanderensis Hernández-Camacho, 1957, Central Colombia

With a head and body length of and a long tail, dwarf squirrels are not as small as their name suggests; they are hardly smaller than the common red or gray squirrels. The neotropical pygmy squirrel, not in this genus, is much smaller than these species. Microsciurus species have gray or brown backs, and white bellies.

All dwarf squirrels in this genus live in tropical rain forests. None of them are endangered, although they are rarely seen, because they are shy and lead hidden lives.