https://wildlife.blog/tags/mammal/Recent content in Mammal on Wildlife.blogHugoen-usSat, 04 Jul 2026 04:21:11 +0000https://wildlife.blog/posts/a-two-toned-squirrel-i-found-in-stuytown-manhattan/Sat, 04 Jul 2026 04:21:11 +0000https://wildlife.blog/posts/a-two-toned-squirrel-i-found-in-stuytown-manhattan/<p><strong>Eastern gray squirrel</strong> <em>(Sciurus carolinensis)</em> — melanistic morph</p> <p>This is a melanistic Eastern gray squirrel, not a separate species. Melanism is an overproduction of the dark pigment melanin (the inverse of albinism), which turns the normally gray coat near-black; such animals are known informally as &ldquo;black squirrels.&rdquo; The two-toned appearance here — a black body with a tail retaining a warm rufous cast — reflects incomplete pigmentation of the tail rather than the animal&rsquo;s age.</p>https://wildlife.blog/posts/black-squirrel-in-a-tree/https://wildlife.blog/posts/black-squirrel-in-a-tree/<p><strong>Eastern Fox Squirrel</strong> <em>(Sciurus niger)</em></p> <p>North America&rsquo;s largest tree squirrel, the fox squirrel carries a recessive melanistic gene that occasionally produces all-black individuals with no brown or gray at all.</p> <p>San Mateo&rsquo;s parks host one of California&rsquo;s densest populations of melanistic fox squirrels, where all-black coats are so common they&rsquo;re practically the local standard.</p> <p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_squirrel">Wikipedia</a> | <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/46017-Sciurus-niger">iNaturalist</a> | <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?taxon_id=46017&amp;place_id=14">Observations map</a></p>