Stanger’s Squirrel. 
Sciurus Stangeri , Waterhouse, Proc. Zool. Soc. p. 127, 1842. 
„ „ Waterhouse, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. x., p. 202, 1842. 
Mr. Waterhouse, who described this animal from a specimen killed by me at Fernando Po, 
and now contained in the British Museum collection, gives the following account of the species :— 
u The most striking external characters of this species consist in its large tail, which is ringed with black 
and white, the crispness of the fur, and the semi-naked condition of the under parts of the body, the sides of 
the face, muzzle, throat, and the inner side of the limbs:—all these parts are so sparingly clothed with hairs 
that the skin is visible. On the upper parts of the body there is scarcely any trace of the finer under fur, 
nearly all the hairs being of the same harsh character; they are black, broadly annulated with yellowish white 
or rusty yellow; on the fore parts of the body the former tint prevails, but the hinder parts may be described 
as black, freely pencilled with bright rusty yellow; on the hind limbs this last-mentioned colour prevails, as 
well as on the upper side of the tarsus. The small adpressed hairs on the sides of the face are partly black 
and partly yellowish white; on the chest the hairs are for the most part whitish, and on the inner side of the 
limbs rusty yellow; on the belly the hairs are most of them yellowish white, annulated with black. The tail 
is very long and bushy; measuring to the end of the hair, it exceeds the head and body in length; excepting 
quite at the base, where the tail is coloured like the body: all the hairs are black, broadly annulated with white, 
and the white on the upper surface forms bars or rings; these however become indistinct towards the apex. 
The ears are of moderate size and rounded. The heel is rather sparingly clothed with hair. 
“The skull of this animal is remarkable for its oblong-ovate form, and for having the ant-orbital foramen 
further back than usual; it opens indeed directly into the anterior root of the zygomatic arch, and is not in the 
form of a longish canal, such as we observe in other Squirrels. The nasal portion of the skull is short and 
broad, and the nasal bones correspond; the elongated form of the cranium is due to the greatly produced hinder 
portion: the antero-posterior extent of the extremely oblique bony plate forming the anterior root of the 
zygomatic arch is great: the post-orbital process is well developed: the palate terminates very nearly in a line 
with the hinder part of the posterior molars. The incisive foramina are moderate. The auditory bullse are 
rather small. The incisors are strong and very deep from front to back. The molars are small in proportion 
to the skull.” 
Habitat, Clarence, Fernando Po. 
Length of the head and body, twelve inches ; tail, fifteen inches. 
On the plate also is represented a wild fruit {Ficus parasiticus, Will.), called by the Mahrattas 
“ Datreeha ” and “ Dartur ” It is a parasite growing on a parasite; the “ Datreeha ” never roots 
itself in the earth, and becomes a tree as the other Ficei do, most commonly; but attaches itself to 
a tree; its roots embrace the trunk in tortuous recticulations, and its foliage obscures that of its 
support, if the latter be not a large tree. The leaves, fruit and branches are esteemed excellent 
food for cattle. The fruit is orange-coloured, the size of a currant, stalked the length of the fruit. 
It is copied from one of Col. Sykes’ drawings, made at Kimdallali, March 8, 1825. 
