8. Caucasian Squirrel, Sciurus (Tenes) anomalus Güldenstädt, 1785

(IUCN Red List: LC)

Subspecies: S. a. syriacus Ehrenberg, 1828 .

Distribution: Common in the western coastal mountain range, but apparently rare in Ghota and Mount Hermon (Fig. 12).

Previous records: Qastal Maaf, Slenfeh, and Al-Furunlok (Lehmann 1965), Mount Hermon and wooded areas near Damascus (Tristram 1866; Harrison & Bates 1991; Shehab et al. 2018), and Abu Qubays and Al-Furunlok (Daoud & Khalil 2009a, b). A total of 83 recent records throughout Syria were provided by Aidek et al. (2021a).

Remarks: Aidek et al. (2021a) provided a detailed account on the current distribution of the Caucasian Squirrel in Syria based on recent and previous records mainly from the Tartous area.