NEW DISTRIBUTIONAL RECORDS OF THE RED SQUIRREL (TAMIASCIURUS HUDSONICUS) IN WESTERN NEW MEXICO AND EVIDENCE FOR ITS EXTIRPATION FROM THE ZUNI MOUNTAINS

In the American Southwest, the red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) occurs as disjunct populations in coniferous forests oil mountaintops. There is a paucity of information concerning the species' distribution and habitat in western New Mexico. I report new records that document and verify the occurrence of red squirrels ill additional montane arc is ill west central New Mexico, including the Mangas Mountains, Ganovas Rim, Turner Mountains, Tularosa Mountains, Elk Mountains, Bearwallow Mountain, and Pinos Altos Mountains. I also report observations of red squirrels from an atypical habitat-low-elevation riparian forests. These new records suggest that the geographic distribution of the species in west central New Mexico is broader Own indicated by existing records. However, I also document the apparent extirpation of red squirrels from the Zuni Mountains ill northwestern New Mexico. The red squirrel is one of Several avian and mammalian species associated with mixed coniferous forests that have become extirpated ill this mountain range.