SQUIRRELS

Squirrels belong to a large familey of small or medium-sized rodents called the Sciuridae. The family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrel, chipmunks, marmots (including woodchucks), flying squirrels, and prairie dogs. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa and have been introduced to Australia. Squirrels are first attested in the eocene, about forty million years ago, and are most closely related to the mountain beaver and to dormice among living species.