---
title: "Variegated Squirrel"
description: "Sciurus variegatoides — Mammals. The variegated squirrel is a tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus found in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, southern Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/variegated-squirrel
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Variegated Squirrel

> Sciurus variegatoides — Mammals. The variegated squirrel is a tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus found in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, southern Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama.

- Scientific name: *Sciurus variegatoides*
- Category: `mammals` (Mammals)
- Habitats: `forest` (Forest)
- iNaturalist observations: 10268
- Wikidata: [Q508774](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q508774)
- iNaturalist taxon: [46005](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/46005)

## Names

- en: Variegated Squirrel
- de: Bunthörnchen
- es: Ardilla centroamericana
- fr: Écureuil multicolore
- nl: Grote gevlekte boomeekhoorn

## Countries with the most observations

CR (5700), PA (1466), HN (1139), NI (404), SV (372), MX (97), GT (72)

## Summary

The variegated squirrel is a tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus found in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, southern Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama. Fifteen subspecies are recognised. It is a common squirrel and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated it a "least-concern species". Variegated squirrels kept as pets in Germany have been implicated in the transmission of a bornavirus to humans from which three people have died.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variegated_squirrel

## Photo

![Variegated Squirrel](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/variegated-squirrel/medium.jpg)

Photo: Irene · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/278036338

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/variegated-squirrel?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).