Squirrel species name

Family of rodents

This article is about the squirrel family (Sciuridae) as a whole. For other uses, see Squirrel (disambiguation).

Squirrels are members of the familySciuridae (), a family that includes small or medium-sized rodents.

The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa, and were introduced by humans to Australia.^[1] The earliest known fossilized squirrels date from the Eocene epoch, and among other living rodent families, the squirrels are most closely related to the mountain beaver and dormice.^[2]

Etymology

The word squirrel, first attested in 1327, comes from the Anglo-Normanesquirel which is from the Old Frenchescurel, the reflex of a Latin word sciurus, which was taken from the Ancient Greek word σκίουρος (skiouros; from σκία-ουρος) 'shadow-tailed', referring to the