Clustered Bracket vs Pallas's squirrel, Red-bellied tree squirrel

Inonotus cuticularis compared with Callosciurus erythraeus

Key Differences

Clustered Bracket is Vulnerable while Pallas's squirrel, Red-bellied tree squirrel is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Clustered Bracket	Pallas's squirrel, Red-bellied tree squirrel
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Hymenochaetales (Hymenochaetales)	Rodentia (Rodents)
Family	Hymenochaetaceae	Sciuridae (Squirrels)
Genus	Inonotus	Callosciurus
Species	Inonotus cuticularis	Callosciurus erythraeus

Conservation Status

Clustered Bracket

VU — Vulnerable

Pallas's squirrel, Red-bellied tree squirrel

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Clustered Bracket	Pallas's squirrel, Red-bellied tree squirrel
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Clustered Bracket

Habitat

Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (4 countries), and North America (United States). Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Pallas's squirrel, Red-bellied tree squirrel

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (China, Japan), Europe (8 countries), and South America (Argentina).

Clustered Bracket

Inonotus cuticularis, the clustered bracket, is a polypore fungus in the family Hymenochaetaceae that grows on living and dead hardwood trees across the northern hemisphere. The fruiting bodies are bracket-shaped, overlapping in tiered clusters, with a yellowish-brown to rusty-brown upper surface that darkens with age, and a pale to golden pore surface beneath. This species causes white heart rot in its host trees, degrading the structural integrity of trunks and major branches. It commonly attacks living oaks, beeches, and other broadleaf trees, as well as occurring on dead wood. Inonotus cuticularis is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN, reflecting its association with old-growth and veteran trees that are increasingly rare in managed European and North American landscapes. The decline of old-growth forest and the removal of veteran trees from managed woodlands and parklands has reduced suitable habitat for many bracket fungi. Conservation of ancient and veteran trees is therefore important for maintaining populations of this and many other wood-decay fungi with similar old-growth associations.