Sciurus: Genus Sciurus

The genus Sciurus contains about 30 species of bushy-tailed squirrels that live in North America, Europe, temperate Asia, Central and South America.

Whats in a name

The genus Sciurus comes from a combintion of two Greek words.  'Skia' means shadow and 'oura' means tail.  This combination comes from the tendency of the squirrel to pull its tail over its head and hide in the shadow of its tail.