Long-tailed ground squirrel
Long-tailed ground squirrel | |
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Conservation status | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Rodentia |
Family: | Sciuridae |
Genus: | Urocitellus |
Species: | U. undulatus |
Binomial name | |
Urocitellus undulatus (Pallas, 1778) | |
Synonyms | |
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The long-tailed ground squirrel or Eversmann's souslik (Urocitellus undulatus) is a species of rodent in the squirrel family Sciuridae.[2] It is found in China, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Russia.[1]
Description
The long-tailed ground squirrel has a compact, low-slung body, short legs and a long bushy tail.[3] The body length reaches up to 315 millimetres (12.4 in) and the tail 160 millimetres (6.3 in). The back is brown with a linear pattern of dark, small spots. The underparts are a paler ochre-brown with a reddish tinge along the side. The tail is barred in brown and black with a prominent light edge stripe and a pale tip.[2]
Distribution and range
This species is found in submontane steppes up to 3,100 metres (10,200 ft), plains, meadows, the edges of pine forests and birch woods, clearings and agricultural land[2] from Southern Siberia and Altai (Russia) to Manchuria. There are two isolated populations in Eastern Siberia, one in southeastern Yakutia and the other in the south of the Amur region. It also occurs in Mongolia and in the northwestern and northeastern parts of China.[1]
Behavior
The long-tailed ground squirrel lives in colonies with a labyrinth of burrows. In light sandy soils these are up to 3 metres (9.8 ft) deep with a single entrance hole surrounded by a large mound of soil up to 2 metres (6.6 ft) in diameter. The underground passages extend up to 15 metres (49 ft). In heavier clay soils, the holes are about 2 metres (6.6 ft) deep, stretch 5–7 metres (16–23 ft) and have several entrances. The animals awake from hibernation in March and the young are born about a month later. There are usually five to eight young in a brood. Activity is concentrated in the early morning and then again in the afternoon and evening, the animals retiring to their burrows in the middle of the day. The diet consists of green vegetation, seeds, insects,[1] bulbs and roots. Before hibernation begins in October, up to 6 kilograms (13 lb) of vegetation and grain are stored in the burrows.[1][2]
References
- ^ a b c d e Cassola, F. (2016). "Urocitellus undulatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T20494A22264197. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T20494A22264197.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ a b c d AgroAtlas
- ^ "ARKive". Archived from the original on 2010-10-21. Retrieved 2010-11-30.
External links
- Media related to Urocitellus undulatus at Wikimedia Commons
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- Espíritu Santo antelope squirrel (A. insularis)
- Texas antelope squirrel (A. interpres)
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- San Joaquin antelope squirrel (A. nelsoni)
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(little ground squirrels)
- Mexican ground squirrel (I. mexicanus)
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- Thirteen-lined ground squirrel (I. tridecemlineatus)
(marmots)
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- 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)
(western chipmunks)
- Tropical ground squirrel (N. adocetus)
- Ring-tailed ground squirrel (N. annulatus)
(rock squirrels)
- Baja California rock squirrel (O. atricapillus)
- California ground squirrel (O. beecheyi)
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(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)
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(Holarctic ground squirrels)
- Uinta ground squirrel (U. armatus)
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- 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)
(pygmy ground squirrels)
- Mohave ground squirrel (X. mohavensis)
- Perote ground squirrel (X. perotensis)
- Spotted ground squirrel (X. spilosoma)
- Round-tailed ground squirrel (X. tereticaudus)