Fremont’s Squirrel

The southwestern red squirrel or Fremont's squirrel (Tamiasciurus fremonti) is a species of tree squirrel, in the genus of pine squirrel, endemic to high-altitude regions of the southwestern United States. == Taxonomy == It was formerly considered conspecific with the American red squirrel (T. hudsonicus), but a 2016 study found sufficient phylogenetic evidence indicating it was a distinct species. The American Society of Mammalogists accepted the results of this study. The Mount Graham red squirrel (T. f. grahamensis) is a notable, endangered subspecies of the southwestern red squirrel. In addition, genetic sampling indicates that squirrels from the Sacramento Mountains of New Mexico form a highly divergent clade that dates back to the Last Glacial Maximum, about 130,000 years ago. Squirrels in the San Mateo Mountains also appear to be genetically divergent, although this is only based on a single individual. == Distribution == It ranges from the Rocky Mountains of Colorado into the Sacramento Mountains in New Mexico and the Mogollon Mountains in both New Mexico and Arizona. Its range overlaps with that of T. hudsonicus in the southern Rocky Mountains. == Habitat == They largely inhabit mixed coniferous and spruce-fir forests. Although they occasionally venture down into ponderosa pine…