African striped squirrel explained

African striped squirrels (genus Funisciurus), or rope squirrels, form a taxon of squirrels under the subfamily Xerinae and the tribe Protoxerini. They are only found in western and central Africa.

There are ten species in the genus:

Zoonoses

African striped squirrels have been implicated in the spread of human monkeypox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.African striped squirrels were found to be a source of monkeypox in a 2003 Midwestern monkeypox outbreak.thumb|left|Congo rope squirrel photographed in Damaraland, Namibia.

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