Variation in the Fox Squirrel in Florida

The form of fox squirrel which occupies western and central Florida has for many years borne the name Sciurus niger niger. It has shared this name with fox squirrels which inhabit the sunny, open pine forests of the coastal plain northward to southeastern Virginia (Handley and Patton, 1947) and westward into southeastern Alabama (Howell, 1921). Its several color phases caused early confusion and has made it a somewhat difficult species with which to work. The forn restricted to the southwestern tip of peninsular Florida first received recognition from Howell (1919), who described it from a single specimen from Everglades, Collier County. This form, Sciurus niger avicennia, has since been reported by Hamilton (1941) on the basis of two sight records, at Fort Myers and Tice, Lee County. Bailey (1930) making no mention of specimens or specific observations, reported it "east and west" of Paradise Key, which is a bit of high land in the Everglades National Park about 12 miles southwest of Homestead, Dade County, and also in the pine