The Zanj sun squirrel has orange-ocher coloring on its cheeks and feet. In East African coastal and riparian forests it is active in trees by day, feeding on fruits and seeds.
Its back is brownish gray, with pale gray to orange-ocher on the cheeks and feet. The underside ranges from light gray to ocher, and the tail has dark and pale bands.
It is diurnal and arboreal. It feeds on fruits, seeds, leaves, and buds, and uses hollows in trunks or branches as nests.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.