Wildlife of Lao PDR: 1999 Status Report - IUCN

Wildlife of Lao PDR: 1999 Status Report
of the Mekong, Xe Kong and presumably of other wide lowland
rivers; recorded up to 500 m in both Xe Pian and Phou
Xiang Thong NBCAs. Absent from low-lying parts of some
hilly regions supporting C. erythraeus. Although treated as a
species of special conservation significance by Salter (1993b),
based on its restricted world range, the species (as currently
defined) is too common in Lao PDR to merit designation as
a key species. Special Significance: Endemic to non-peninsular
Thailand and adjacent parts of Myanmar, Lao PDR,
Cambodia and Vietnam (Corbet and Hill 1992). Taxonomic
issues: See note under C. erythraeus. The bright red race C.
f. williamsoni (C. ferrugineus williamsoni in some past literature)
is known so far only from Lao PDR, occurring from
at least Ban Thangon (Vientiane Municipality) south to the
Cambodian border (Moore and Tate 1965). It is still abundant
in the latter area, and is known in the north from recent
Vientiane markets. The presence of another red form (superficially
similar and as yet undescribed) in Vientiane markets
hampers field identification to species in north Lao PDR
(Evans et al. in prep. b). A striking new form, as yet un-named,
found in central Lao PDR in 1995 has a vivid black and red
pelage (Evans et al. in prep. b). C. f. annellatus, bright red
with a pale tail band, was collected near Champasak town
(west of the Mekong River) and, reportedly, east of the
Mekong, to the east of Pakxe (Moore and Tate 1965). It is
common in Dong Khanthung PNBCA (Round 1998). There
are no recent records east of the Mekong, suggesting that the
historical specimen may be misleadingly labelled. Animals
resembling C. f. bocourti (strikingly patterned black and
white) and C. f. menamicus (red with a buffy tail tip) were
seen in Nam Phoun NBCA in 1997 (Boonratana 1997); Deuve
(1972) recorded the former (as C. f. tachardi) from
Xaignabouli Province. The possibility of hybridisation between
this species and C. erythraeus ssp. in Lao PDR was
discussed by Moore and Tate (1965). Some animals in a
market close to Phou Xang He NBCA in 1993 showed a mix
of characters of the two species (RJTim). A record not
assigned to subspecies for Nakai (Delacour 1940) is outside
the species’s range as currently understood, and there is also
a provisional 1998 record from Hin Namno NBCA (Walston
in prep.).
[Callosciurus caniceps Grey-bellied Squirrel]. This species,
not recorded east of the Mekong by Moore and Tate (1965)
or Corbet and Hill (1992), occurs across much of continental
Thailand and may well inhabit Xaignabouli Province, and/or
the parts of Champasak which lie west of the Mekong.
• Callosciurus inornatus (= C. imitator) Inornate Squirrel
(included in C. pygerythrus M7 ). Conservation Significance:
Globally Threatened - Vulnerable, as C. pygerythrus; Little
Known in Lao PDR. Endemic to northern Lao PDR, northern
Vietnam and southern Yunnan (China); occurs only east
of the Mekong (Corbet and Hill 1992). Documented Range
216
and Habitat: North M8 , centre M13 . Wide habitat use: known
recently from degraded evergreen forest of the Mekong plain
to pristine evergreen forest at 1100 m in the Annamites, and
recorded in scrub at various sites. Status Information: Found
in most survey areas within its range (Table 12), but only in
low numbers. Yet, Osgood (1932) and Deuve (1972) stated
that the species was abundant, and numbers are high in some
markets in the 1990s (e.g. Ban Lak (20), Timmins and Evans
1996; Xam-Nua, Showler et al. 1998b; Ban Phonsavan,
Xiangkhouang Province, Duckworth et al. in prep.). The main
numbers thus seem to be in areas and/or habitats not recently
surveyed and thus probably not in protected areas. The southern
range limit is unclear; recent records come largely from
east and north of the Nam Theun, but there is one from the
north bank of the upper Xe Bangfai (Walston in prep.).
Bourret (1942) described a specimen from Xe Pon in the
upper Xe Banghiang showing some characters of this species.
Deuve (1972) claimed (with no details) this species from
the Xe Banghiang. Further detail is given in Duckworth et
al. (in prep.). Uncertainty over the habitat use of this species,
and the absence of large populations in NBCAs, indicate that
it should be classed as Little Known in Lao PDR. Taxonomic
issues: Unlike its Lao congeners, this species is not
taxonomically complex. The apparent inclusion of it by IUCN
(1996) within C. pygerythrus reflects the treatment of
Ellerman and Morrison-Scott (1951). Although it was still
treated as a subspecies of C. pygerythrus by Deuve (1972),
Moore and Tate (1965: 211-212) demonstrated clearly the
specific distinctiveness of C. inornatus. (Plates 14, 17)
Tamiops mcclellandii (= T. macclellandi M6 ; = T.
mcclellandi M2 ; = Callosciurus macclellandi M1 ) Western
Striped Squirrel (Himalayan Striped Squirrel M1, M4, M5 ; =
Burmese Striped Tree Squirrel M2 ). North M14 . Occurs west of
the Mekong, in Hongsa special zone (Bergmans 1995), and
possibly to the east, around Vientiane (Moore and Tate 1965);
the possibility that the latter specimens were brought across
the Mekong needs assessment. Habitat use unclear. Taxonomic
issues: Collecting has not been extensive enough to
document the forms of the genus Tamiops in Lao PDR. Consequently
the relationships between them, and even how many
species are involved, are unclear.
Tamiops rodolphii (= T. rodolphei M2, M4, M6 ) Cambodian
Striped Squirrel (= Cambodian Striped Tree Squirrel M2 ).
North M10 , centre M8 , south M8 . Specimens examined by Moore
and Tate (1965) come only from Champasak and Attapu Provinces,
but recent field observations extend the range north of
the Nam Theun (Evans et al. in prep. b). Evergreen forest in
Lao PDR; in adjacent countries, animals showing field characters
of this species occur widely in open deciduous forest.
Although treated as a species of special conservation significance
by Salter (1993b), based on its restricted world range,
the species (as currently defined) remains too common in its