Xerospermophilus

Genus of rodents

Xerospermophilus
Round-tailed ground squirrel in Phoenix, Arizona
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Sciuridae
Tribe: Marmotini
Genus: Xerospermophilus
Merriam, 1892
Species

X. mohavensis
X. tereticaudus
X. spilosoma
X. perotensis

Spotted ground squirrels

Pygmy ground squirrels are small ground squirrels in the genus Xerospermophilus, family Sciuridae, containing four species from Mexico and the United States. The members of this genus were formerly placed in the large ground squirrel genus Spermophilus. Since DNA sequencing of the cytochrome b gene showed that Spermophilus (as then defined) was paraphyletic to the prairie dogs and marmots,[1] this group is now separated, along with six other genera.[2] Within the genus, the Mohave ground squirrel and the round-tailed ground squirrel were thought to be close relatives, sometimes a subgenus Xerospermophilus, while the spotted ground squirrel and the Perote ground squirrel were formerly placed in the subgenus (now a genus) Ictidomys.[2]

The name of the genus is a combination of the Greek word xeros, "dry", and Spermophilus, which also comes from Greek, meaning "seed lovers".[2]

Species

The four species in Xerospermophilus are listed below. These were previously grouped in the subgenus Otospermophilus together with the rock squirrel and other related species.[2]

References

  1. ^ Herron, Matthew D.; Castoe, Todd A.; Parkinson, Christopher L. (2004). "Sciurid phylogeny and the paraphyly of Holarctic ground squirrels (Spermophilus)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 31 (3): 1015–30. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2003.09.015. PMID 15120398.
  2. ^ a b c d Helgen, Kristofer M.; Cole, F. Russel; Helgen, Lauren E. & Wilson, Don E (2009). "Generic Revision in the Holarctic Ground Squirrel Genus Spermophilus" (PDF). Journal of Mammalogy. 90 (2): 270–305. doi:10.1644/07-MAMM-A-309.1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 April 2012.
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Living species of tribe Marmotini (ground squirrels)
Ammospermophilus
(antelope squirrels)
  • Harris's antelope squirrel (A. harrisii) 
  • Espíritu Santo antelope squirrel (A. insularis) 
  • Texas antelope squirrel (A. interpres) 
  • White-tailed antelope squirrel (A. leucurus) 
  • San Joaquin antelope squirrel (A. nelsoni)
Callospermophilus
(golden-mantled ground squirrels)
  • Golden-mantled ground squirrel (C. lateralis) 
  • Sierra Madre ground squirrel (C. madrensis) 
  • Cascade golden-mantled ground squirrel (C. saturatus)
Cynomys
(prairie dogs)
  • Gunnison's prairie dog (C. gunnisoni) 
  • White-tailed prairie dog (C. leucurus) 
  • Black-tailed prairie dog (C. ludovicianus) 
  • Mexican prairie dog (C. mexicanus) 
  • Utah prairie dog (C. parvidens)
Eutamias
  • Siberian chipmunk (E. sibiricus)
Ictidomys
(little ground squirrels)
  • Mexican ground squirrel (I. mexicanus) 
  • Rio Grande ground squirrel (I. parvidens
  • Thirteen-lined ground squirrel (I. tridecemlineatus)
Marmota
(marmots)
Subgenus Marmota: Gray marmot (M. baibacina) 
  • Bobak marmot (M. bobak) 
  • Alaska marmot (M. broweri) 
  • Black-capped marmot (M. camtschatica) 
  • Long-tailed marmot (M. caudata) 
  • Himalayan marmot (M. himalayana) 
  • Alpine marmot (M. marmota) 
  • Menzbier's marmot (M. menzbieri) 
  • Groundhog or woodchuck (M. monax) 
  • Tarbagan marmot (M. sibirica)
    Subgenus Petromarmota: Hoary marmot (M. caligata) 
  • Yellow-bellied marmot (M. flaviventris) 
  • Olympic marmot (M. olympus) 
  • Vancouver Island marmot (M. vancouverensis)
Neotamias
(western chipmunks)
  • Alpine chipmunk (N. alpinus) 
  • Yellow-pine chipmunk (N. amoenus) 
  • Buller's chipmunk (N. bulleri) 
  • Gray-footed chipmunk (N. canipes) 
  • Gray-collared chipmunk (N. cinereicollis) 
  • Cliff chipmunk (N. dorsalis) 
  • Durango chipmunk (N. durangae) 
  • Merriam's chipmunk (N. merriami) 
  • Least chipmunk (N. minimus) 
  • California chipmunk (N. obscurus) 
  • Yellow-cheeked chipmunk (N. ochrogenys) 
  • Palmer's chipmunk (N. palmeri) 
  • Panamint chipmunk (N. panamintinus) 
  • Long-eared chipmunk (N. quadrimaculatus) 
  • Colorado chipmunk (N. quadrivittatus) 
  • Red-tailed chipmunk (N. ruficaudus) 
  • Hopi chipmunk (N. rufus) 
  • Allen's chipmunk (N. senex) 
  • Siskiyou chipmunk (N. siskiyou) 
  • Sonoma chipmunk (N. sonomae) 
  • Lodgepole chipmunk (N. speciosus) 
  • Townsend's chipmunk (N. townsendii) 
  • Uinta chipmunk (N. umbrinus)
  • Notocitellus
    • Tropical ground squirrel (N. adocetus) 
    • Ring-tailed ground squirrel (N. annulatus)
    Otospermophilus
    (rock squirrels)
    • Baja California rock squirrel (O. atricapillus) 
    • California ground squirrel (O. beecheyi) 
    • Rock squirrel (O. variegatus)
    Poliocitellus
    • Franklin's ground squirrel (P. franklinii)
    Sciurotamias
    (Asian rock squirrels)
    • Père David's rock squirrel (S. davidianus) 
    • Forrest's rock squirrel (S. forresti)
    Spermophilus sensu stricto
    (Old World ground squirrels)
    • Alashan ground squirrel (S. alashanicus) 
    • Brandt’s ground squirrel (S. brevicauda
    • European ground squirrel (S. citellus) 
    • Daurian ground squirrel (S. dauricus) 
    • Red-cheeked ground squirrel (S. erythrogenys) 
    • Yellow ground squirrel (S. fulvus) 
    • Russet ground squirrel (S. major) 
    • Caucasian mountain ground squirrel (S. musicus) 
    • Tian Shan ground squirrel (S. nilkaensis) 
    • Pallid ground squirrel (S. pallidicauda
    • Little ground squirrel (S. pygmaeus) 
    • Relict ground squirrel (S. relictus
    • Speckled ground squirrel (Spermophilus suslicus) 
    • Taurus ground squirrel (Spermophilus taurensis) 
    • Asia Minor ground squirrel (Spermophilus xanthoprymnus)
    Tamias
    • Eastern chipmunk (T. striatus)
    Urocitellus
    (Holarctic ground squirrels)
    • Uinta ground squirrel (U. armatus) 
    • Belding's ground squirrel (U. beldingi) 
    • Northern Idaho ground squirrel (U. brunneus) 
    • Merriam's ground squirrel (U. canus) 
    • Columbian ground squirrel (U. columbianus) 
    • Wyoming ground squirrel (U. elegans) 
    • Southern Idaho ground squirrel (U. endemicus) 
    • Piute ground squirrel (U. mollis) 
    • Arctic ground squirrel (U. parryii) 
    • Richardson's ground squirrel (U. richardsonii) 
    • Townsend's ground squirrel (U. townsendii) 
    • Long-tailed ground squirrel (U. undulatus)
    • Washington ground squirrel (U. washingtoni) 
    Xerospermophilus
    (pygmy ground squirrels)
    • Mohave ground squirrel (X. mohavensis) 
    • Perote ground squirrel (X. perotensis) 
    • Spotted ground squirrel (X. spilosoma) 
    • Round-tailed ground squirrel (X. tereticaudus)
    Category
    Taxon identifiers
    Xerospermophilus


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