a subspecies of the pine squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris). The body measures as much as 30 cm in length, and the tail as much as 40 cm. The animal inhabits strip pine forests of the Altai Krai and the forest-steppe of Western Siberia and Kazakhstan. Its thick, silky, blue-gray pelt is more valuable than that of other subspecies. When Sciurus vulgaris exalbidus was acclimatized in Tien-Shan, the Crimea, and Byelorussia, the quality of the fur declined.