Xerus inauris

Skurski, Douglas A.; Waterman, Jane M.

doi:10.1644/781.1

Cited by 20 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…The SSDS is reportedly not readily apparent in Xerus (O'Shea 1991), Geosciurus (Smithers 1971, Skurski and Waterman 2005 and Euxerus (Waterman 2013b). Usually, males are slightly larger and heavier than females.…”

Section: External Morphologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Type locality is "Kaffirland, 100 miles north of the Cape of Good Hope" (Skurski and Waterman 2005).…”

Section: Geosciurus Inauris (Zimmermann): Cape Ground Squirrelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Distribution. -The genus Geosciurus is endemic to Zambezian savannah (Denys 1999; Figure 9) see Skurski and Waterman (2005), Waterman and Herron (2004) and Waterman (2013d,e …”

Section: Geosciurus Princeps Thomas: Damara (Kaokoveld) Ground Squirrelmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A review of bristly ground squirrels Xerini and a generic revision in the African genus Xerus

et al. 2016

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Section: External Morphologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Type locality is "Kaffirland, 100 miles north of the Cape of Good Hope" (Skurski and Waterman 2005).…”

Section: Geosciurus Inauris (Zimmermann): Cape Ground Squirrelmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A review of bristly ground squirrels Xerini and a generic revision in the African genus Xerus

et al. 2016

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“…The Cape ground squirrel (Xerus inauris) is a highly social, diurnal, semi-fossorial sciurid from southern Africa (Waterman 1995;Skurski & Waterman 2005). Cape ground squirrels live in open habitats and use both visual and auditory cues to detect predators (Furrer & Manser 2009;Unck et al 2009;Edwards & Waterman 2011).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Olfactory Snake‐Predator Discrimination in the Cape Ground Squirrel

Phillips

Waterman

2013

Ethology

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Small mammals have a number of means to detect and avoid predators, including visual, auditory and olfactory cues. Olfactory cues are particularly important for nocturnal or fossorial species where visual cues would not be as reliable. The Cape ground squirrel (Xerus inauris) is a semi‐fossorial, diurnal mammal from southern Africa. Cape ground squirrels encounter multiple species of predatory snake that pursue individuals underground where visual and social cues are limited. We assessed whether Cape ground squirrels use odours to discriminate between snakes by presenting a non‐venomous snake, a venomous snake and a control odour collected on polyethylene cubes to 11 adult female squirrels from 11 different social groups. Cape ground squirrels responded by inspecting the cube, displaying snake harassment–associated behaviours and decreasing time spent in close proximity to snake odours when compared with a control. They also displayed discrimination between two snake species by increasing the frequency of cube inspection and increasing harassment behaviours with venomous snake odours when compared with non‐venomous snake odours. We conclude that Cape ground squirrels respond with snake‐specific antipredator behaviours when presented olfactory cues alone. Olfactory discrimination may be maintained by the decreased utility of other methods of predator detection: sight and group detection, in below‐ground encounters.

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“…The Cape ground squirrel (Xerus inauris) is a ground-dwelling sciurid that inhabits the arid regions of southern Africa (Skurski and Waterman, 2005). X. inauris, similar to S. beecheyi, approaches and mobs several venomous species of snake (Owings and Coss, 1977;Waterman, 1997;Waterman and Roth, 2007).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

No evidence for proteolytic venom resistance in southern African ground squirrels

Phillips

Waterman

Plessis³

et al. 2012

Toxicon

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Many species that interact with venomous snakes show resistances to their venoms. The family Sciuridae has several North American members that harass venomous snakes and show proteolytic resistances in their sera. We examined sera collected from an African ground squirrel (Xerus inauris) against two sympatric venomous snakes (Bitis arietans and Naja annulifera) and found no support for proteolytic resistance. Our results add to our understanding of the risks in predator defense within the family Sciuridae.

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Xerus inauris

Cited by 20 publications

References 16 publications

A review of bristly ground squirrels Xerini and a generic revision in the African genus Xerus

A review of bristly ground squirrels Xerini and a generic revision in the African genus Xerus

Olfactory Snake‐Predator Discrimination in the Cape Ground Squirrel

No evidence for proteolytic venom resistance in southern African ground squirrels

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