Mearns's squirrel
Tamiasciurus mearnsi (Townsend, 1897)
The mearns's squirrel (Tamiasciurus mearnsi) is a species in the family Sciuridae, order Rodentia. Recorded adults weigh 229.8 g to 231.6 g and live up to 5.49 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Endangered.
Quick facts about the mearns's squirrel
- Weight
- 231.6 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 5.49 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 38.8 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 5.43src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 4.3 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 2src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Arborealsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the mearns's squirrel live?
Not recorded
What is the mearns's squirrel?
Mearns's squirrel (Tamiasciurus douglasii mearnsi) is a subspecies of the Douglas squirrel endemic to Mexico. It is endangered and occurs in low densities, and is threatened by habitat loss. It is possibly also threatened by competition from the eastern gray squirrel, which was introduced to the range of Mearns's squirrel in 1946, but may not be present anymore. It is closely related to other subspecies of the Douglas squirrel, but far less is known about its behavior, which was first studied in detail in 2004. It is named for the 19th-century American naturalist Edgar Mearns.
From the Wikipedia article “Mearns's squirrel” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mearns%27s_squirrel&oldid=1382449230), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the mearns's squirrel endangered?
The mearns's squirrel is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Endangered species.
How is the mearns's squirrel classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderRodentia
- familySciuridae
- genusTamiasciurus
- SpeciesTamiasciurus mearnsi (Townsend, 1897)
Other names and names in other languages (1)
- Mearns’s squirrelEnglish
Relatives of the mearns's squirrel
Other species in the same genus Tamiasciurus.
American red squirrel
Tamiasciurus hudsonicus
Douglas squirrel
Tamiasciurus douglasii
CompareMearns's squirrel vs American red squirrelMearns's squirrel vs Douglas squirrelMearns's squirrel vs Tamiasciurus douglas
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the mearns's squirrel?
An adult mearns's squirrel weighs 231.6 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the mearns's squirrel endangered?
The mearns's squirrel is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
How long does the mearns's squirrel live?
The mearns's squirrel has a recorded lifespan of 5.49 years.
How long is the mearns's squirrel pregnant?
The recorded gestation period is 38.8 days.
What kind of animal is the mearns's squirrel?
The mearns's squirrel (Tamiasciurus mearnsi) belongs to the family Sciuridae in the order Rodentia.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Mearns's squirrel (Tamiasciurus mearnsi). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/mearns-s-squirrel
“Mearns's squirrel (Tamiasciurus mearnsi).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/mearns-s-squirrel.
@misc{mearns_s_squirrel_2026,
title = {Mearns's squirrel (Tamiasciurus mearnsi)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/mearns-s-squirrel},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}