Editing Squirrel (section)

{{short description|Family of rodents}}
{{About|the squirrel family (Sciuridae) as a whole}}
{{Pp-semi-indef|small=yes}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = Squirrels
| fossil_range = {{fossil range|Late Eocene|Recent|Late [[Eocene]] – Recent}}
| image = Sciuridae.jpg
| image_upright = 1.15
| image_caption = Various members of the family Sciuridae

{{aligned table|cols=3
 | ''[[Prevost's squirrel|Callosciurus prevostii]]'' | ''[[Siberian chipmunk|Eutamias sibiricus]]'' | ''[[American red squirrel|Tamiasciurus hudsonicus]]''
 | ''[[Fox squirrel|Sciurus niger]]'' | ''[[Urocitellus columbianus]]''  | ''[[Smith's bush squirrel|Paraxerus cepapi]]''
 | ''[[Cape ground squirrel|Geosciurus inauris]]'' | ''[[Marmot]]a'' sp.  | ''[[Black-tailed prairie dog|Cynomys ludovicianus]]''
}}
| taxon = Sciuridae
| authority = [[Johann Fischer von Waldheim|Fischer de Waldheim]], 1817
| type_genus = ''[[Sciurus]]''
| type_genus_authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758
| subdivision_ranks = Subfamilies and tribes
| subdivision = * Subfamily [[Ratufinae]]
* Subfamily [[Sciurillinae]]
* Subfamily [[Sciurinae]]
** Tribe [[Sciurini]]
** Tribe [[Pteromyini]]
* Subfamily [[Callosciurinae]]
** Tribe [[Callosciurini]]
** Tribe [[Funambulini]]
* Subfamily [[Xerinae]]
** Tribe [[Xerini]]
** Tribe [[Protoxerini]]
** Tribe [[Marmotini]]
}}

'''Squirrels''' are members of the [[family (biology)|family]] '''Sciuridae''' ({{IPAc-en|s|I|'|j|u:|r|I|d|eI|,_|-|d|i:}}), a family that includes small or medium-sized [[rodent]]s. The squirrel family includes [[tree squirrel]]s, [[ground squirrel]]s (including [[chipmunk]]s and [[prairie dog]]s, among others), and [[flying squirrel]]s. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa, and were [[introduced species|introduced]] by humans to Australia.<ref name=Seebeck>{{cite web|last=Seebeck|first=J. H.|title=Sciuridae|url=http://www.scarysquirrel.org/vacation/australia/fauna.pdf|work=Fauna of Australia|access-date=2013-11-24|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150117031835/http://www.scarysquirrel.org/vacation/australia/fauna.pdf|archive-date=17 January 2015}}</ref> 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 [[dormouse|dormice]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kay |first1=Emily H. |last2=Hoekstra |first2=Hopi E. |date=20 May 2008 |title=Rodents |url=https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2008.03.019 |journal=Current Biology |volume=18 |issue=10 |pages=R406–R410 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2008.03.019 |pmid=18492466 |bibcode=2008CBio...18.R406K |issn=0960-9822}}</ref>