This squirrel lives in India's Western Ghats. Three pale stripes run along its back, and its head is grayish or reddish brown. It uses moist forests and can also occur in plantations and pasture.
Three pale longitudinal stripes run along its back. The body ranges from grayish brown to nearly black; the head is grayish or reddish brown, and the tail is full.
It occurs in moist deciduous forest, evergreen rainforest, pasture, and cardamom, tea, and coffee plantations. The account places it in dense, higher canopy in moist deciduous forest.
A study published in 2022 recorded this squirrel in five of six sacred groves in Kannur, Kerala. Morning transect walks covered 48 km over two months, recording 106 sightings and 33 feeding observations: 20 on fruits, 12 on flowers and one on leaves. These records are limited to the surveyed groves and period.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.