Funambulus is a genus of rodents in the Sciuridae (squirrel) family, the only one in tribe Funambulini. It contains these species:

Genus Funambulus

Subgenus Funambulus

• Layard's palm squirrel (F. layardi) — Sri Lanka

• Dusky palm squirrel (F. obscurus) — Sri Lanka

• Indian palm squirrel (F. palmarum) — Sri Lanka and mainland South Asia

• Nilgiri striped palm squirrel (F. sublineatus) — southern Western Ghats

• Jungle palm squirrel (F. tristriatus) — southern India, mostly Western Ghats

Subgenus Prasadsciurus

• Northern palm squirrel (F. pennantii) — most of South Asia (but not the southernmost tip), stretching into the highlands of Pakistan and Iran

Etymology

"Funambulus" is the Latin word for "rope-dancer".

References