red squirrel

noun

1. a reddish squirrel, Tamiasciurus hudsonicus, of North America.

red squirrel

noun

1. a reddish-brown squirrel, Sciurus vulgaris , inhabiting woodlands of Europe and parts of Asia
2. American red squirrel or chickaree
   either of two reddish-brown squirrels, Tamiasciurus hudsonicus or T. douglasii , inhabiting forests of North America

Word History and Origins

Origin of red squirrel¹

An Americanism dating back to 1630–40

Example Sentences

Animals ranging from the red squirrel to the capercaillie grouse are also depicted, as part of an effort to show the importance, and precariousness, of the natural world.

From BBC

"The medieval red squirrel strain we recovered is more closely related to medieval human strains from the same city than to strains isolated from infected modern red squirrels. Overall, our results point to an independent circulation of M. leprae strains between humans and red squirrels during the Medieval Period."

From Science Daily

The researchers sequenced and reconstructed four genomes representing medieval strains of M. leprae, including one from a red squirrel.

From Science Daily

After sorting through remains previous archaeologists had gathered from a pit in Winchester, the team identified 12 red squirrel bones from between the 10th and 13th centuries that appeared swollen, rough, or damaged from infection or inflammation, the markers of leprosy.

From Science Magazine

Petrullo is part of the Kluane Red Squirrel Project, a multi-university long-term field project involving the University of Alberta, University of Michigan, University of Colorado Boulder and University of Saskatchewan.

From Science Daily