Grey Squirrel Skull Replica measures 66mm or 2.6 inches. Grey Squirrel Skull is museum quality polyurethane cast made in USA. 2-part skull (separate cranium and jaw). Known as S. carolinensis. Our precise skull can be used as a teaching tool, museum skull exhibit, home decor skull, or office decor skull.
The S. carolinensis, also known as the Grey squirrel depending on region, is a tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus.
It is native to eastern North America, where it is the most prodigious and ecologically essential natural forest regenerator.
Widely introduced to certain places around the world, the eastern gray squirrel in Europe, in particular, is regarded as an invasive species.
The Grey Squirrel has predominantly gray fur, but it can have a brownish color. It has a usual white underside as compared to the typical brownish-orange underside of the fox squirrel.
It has a large bushy tail. Particularly in urban situations where the risk of predation is reduced, both white and black-colored individuals are quite often found.
The head and body length is from 9.1 to 11.8 in., the tail from 7.5 to 9.8 in., and the adult weight varies between 14 and 21 oz.
The tracks of an Grey Squirrel are difficult to distinguish from the related fox squirrel and Abert’s squirrel, though the latter’s range is almost entirely different from the gray’s.
Like all squirrels, the Eastern gray shows four toes on the front feet and five on the hind feet.
The hind foot-pad is often not visible in the track. When bounding or moving at speed, the front foot tracks will be behind the hind foot tracks. The bounding stride can be two to three feet long.
Grey Squirrels build a type of nest, known as a drey, in the forks of trees, consisting mainly of dry leaves and twigs.
The dreys are roughly spherical, about 30 to 60 cm in diameter and are usually insulated with moss, thistledown, dried grass, and feathers to reduce heat loss.
Males and females may share the same nest for short times during the breeding season, and during cold winter spells.
Newborn S. carolinensis or Gray Squirrels weigh 13–18 grams and are entirely hairless and pink, although vibrissae are present at birth. 7–10 days postpartum, the skin begins to darken, just before the juvenile pelage grows in.
Lower incisors erupt 19–21 days postpartum, while upper incisors erupt after 4 weeks. Cheek teeth erupt during week 6. Eyes open after 21–42 days, and ears open 3–4 weeks postpartum.
Weaning is initiated around 7 weeks postpartum, and is usually finished by week 10, followed by the loss of the juvenile pelage. Full adult body mass is achieved by 8–9 months after birth.
Grey Squirrel eat a range of foods, such as tree bark, tree buds, berries, many types of seeds and acorns, walnuts, and other nuts, like hazelnuts and some types of fungi found in the forests, including fly agaric mushrooms.
They can cause damage to trees by tearing the bark and eating the soft cambial tissue underneath.
Eastern Grey Squirrels predators include hawks, weasels, raccoons, bobcats, foxes, domestic and feral cats, snakes, owls, and dogs. Their primary predators are hawks, owls, and snakes.
Raccoons and weasels may consume a squirrel depending on where it lives in the United States.
Rattlesnakes eat squirrels in California as they are searching for food in a heavy forest. The squirrel is susceptible to be eaten by a fox in the eastern region of the United States.
