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Xerinae
The Xerinae comprise a subfamily of squirrels, many of which are highly terrestrial. It includes the tribes Marmotini (marmots, chipmunks, prairie dogs, and other Holarctic ground squirrels), Xerini (African and some Eurasian ground squirrels), and Protoxerini (African tree squirrels).Thorington, R. W. and R. S. Hoffmann (2005). "Family Sciuridae". pp. 754–818 in Wilson, E. D. and Reeder, D. M. (eds.), Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference', Vol. 2. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. Taxonomy Tribe Xerini six species of ground squirrels in five genera, occurring in Africa and Asia. :''Atlantoxerus'' :'' Euxerus'' :''Geosciurus'' :''Spermophilopsis'' :'' Xerus'' Tribe Protoxerini thirty species of tree squirrels in six genera, occurring in Africa. :''Epixerus'' :'' Funisciurus'' :'' Heliosciurus'' :''Myosciurus'' :'' Paraxerus'' :'' Protoxerus'' Tribe Marmotini ground squirrels in fifteen genera, occurring world wide. Includes the prairie d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cynomys
Prairie dogs (genus ''Cynomys'') are herbivorous burrowing ground squirrels native to the grasslands of North America. Within the genus are five species: black-tailed, white-tailed, Gunnison's, Utah, and Mexican prairie dogs. In Mexico, prairie dogs are found primarily in the northern states, which lie at the southern end of the Great Plains: northeastern Sonora, north and northeastern Chihuahua, northern Coahuila, northern Nuevo León, and northern Tamaulipas. In the United States, they range primarily to the west of the Mississippi River, though they have also been introduced in a few eastern locales. They are also found in the Canadian Prairies. Despite the name, they are not actually canines; prairie dogs, along with the marmots, chipmunks, and several other basal genera belong to the ground squirrels (tribe ''Marmotini''), part of the larger squirrel family (''Sciuridae''). Prairie dogs are considered a keystone species with their mounds often being used by other sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xerini
Xerini is a tribe of ground squirrels occurring in Africa and Asia. With the tribes Marmotini (Holarctic ground squirrels) and Protoxerini (African tree squirrels), they form the subfamily Xerinae. There are five living genera—'' Xerus'', the unstriped ground squirrel; '' Euxerus'', the striped ground squirrel; ''Geosciurus'', the Cape and mountain ground squirrels; ''Atlantoxerus'', containing the living Barbary ground squirrel of North Africa and some extinct species; and ''Spermophilopsis'', containing the long-clawed ground squirrel of Central Asia. The squirrels live in open woodlands, grasslands, or rocky country. They are diurnal and terrestrial, living in burrows. Their diet is roots, seeds, fruits, pods, grains, insects, small vertebrates and bird eggs. They live in colonies similar to North American prairie dogs, and have similar behavior. If kept as pets, they run free as house cats do, otherwise farmers consider them pests. Breeding in South African ground squirrels ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spermophilus
''Spermophilus'' is a genus of ground squirrels in the Sciuridae, squirrel family. As traditionally defined the genus was very species-rich, ranging through Europe, Asia and North America, but this arrangement was found to be paraphyletic to the certainly distinct prairie dogs, marmots, and antelope squirrels. As a consequence, all the former ''Spermophilus'' species of North America have been moved to other genera, leaving the European and Asian species as true ''Spermophilus'' (the only exceptions are two Asian ''Urocitellus''). Some species are sometimes called susliks (or sousliks). This name comes from Russian :ru:Суслики, суслик, ''suslik''. In some languages, a derivative of the name is in common usage, for example ''suseł'' in Polish. The scientific name of this genus means "seed-lovers" (gr. σπέρμα ''sperma'', genitive σπέρματος ''spermatos'' – seed; φίλος ''philos'' – friend, lover). Habitat and behavior As typical ground squirr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protoxerini
The Protoxerini comprise a tribe of squirrels found in Africa. The 30 species in six genera are:Thorington, R. W. and R. S. Hoffmann. 2005. Family Sciuridae. Pp 754–818 in Mammal Species of the World A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. *''Epixerus'' (monotypic) - Ebian's palm squirrel *'' Funisciurus'' (nine species) - African striped squirrels *'' Heliosciurus'' (six species) - sun squirrels *''Myosciurus The African pygmy squirrel (''Myosciurus pumilio'') is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is monotypic within the genus ''Myosciurus''. It is found in tropical rainforests in Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, ...'' (monotypic) - African pygmy squirrel *'' Paraxerus'' (11 species) - African bush squirrels *'' Protoxerus'' (two species) - African giant squirrels References Protoxerini Mammal tribes {{Squirrel-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poliocitellus
Franklin's ground squirrel (''Poliocitellus franklinii'') is a species of squirrel native to North America, and the only member of the genus ''Poliocitellus''. Due to the destruction of prairie, the populations of Franklin's ground squirrel have dwindled, approaching levels of concern. Its decline in the eastern portion of its range is mostly attributed to habitat fragmentation. Taxonomy Franklin's ground squirrel was first described by Joseph Sabine in 1822, who named it in honor of the British Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin. It was formerly placed in the large ground squirrel genus ''Spermophilus'', in its own subgenus, ''Poliocitellus'', but since DNA sequencing of the cytochrome ''b'' gene has shown ''Spermophilus'' to be paraphyletic it is now placed in its own genus. Franklin's ground squirrel is suggested to be sister to a clade containing not only the Mohave, round-tailed, spotted, and Perote ground squirrels (genus ''Xerospermophilus''), but the prairie dogs as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Myosciurus
The African pygmy squirrel (''Myosciurus pumilio'') is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is monotypic within the genus ''Myosciurus''. It is found in tropical rainforests in Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon. It is not considered threatened, but likely declines locally due to habitat loss. Together with the least pygmy squirrel of Asia, the African pygmy squirrel is the world's smallest squirrel measuring about in total length and just in weight, which is less than a typical house mouse. Habitat African pygmy squirrels are diurnal and live in trees. These squirrels are found in many forests in Central Africa. They prefer lower levels of the canopy, and spend most of the time at heights up to five meters. Physical description African pygmy squirrels are the smallest squirrel species in the world. These pygmy squirrels have longer hind limbs than forelimbs, an arched profile skull, rooted cheek teeth, and ever growing incisors. The A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sciurotamias
''Sciurotamias'' is a genus of rodent in the family Sciuridae, found in China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and .... It contains the following species: * Père David's rock squirrel (''Sciurotamias davidianus'') * Forrest's rock squirrel (''Sciurotamias forresti'') References Rodent genera Taxa named by Gerrit Smith Miller Jr. Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{ground-squirrel-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South African Ground Squirrel
The Cape ground squirrel or South African ground squirrel (''Geosciurus inauris'') is found in most of the drier parts of southern Africa from South Africa, through to Botswana, and into Namibia, including Etosha National Park. The name ''Cape'' ground squirrel is somewhat misleading as it actually has a much wider area of habitation. This common name may have been arrived at to distinguish it from a tree squirrel (the eastern grey squirrel) found around Cape Town, which was imported from Europe by Cecil John Rhodes. The species has also been known as the fan-tailed squirrel. Description The Cape ground squirrel has black skin with a coat made of short stiff hairs without underfur. The fur is cinnamon on the back while the face, underbelly, sides of neck and ventral sides of limbs are white.Skurski, D., J. Waterman. 2005. "Xerus inauris", ''Mammalian Species'' 781:1-4. The sides of its body each have a white stripe that stretches from the shoulders to the thighs. The eyes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spermophilopsis
The long-clawed ground squirrel (''Spermophilopsis leptodactylus'') is a squirrel species native to grasslands and deserts in northeastern Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, northwestern Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. It is the only member of the tribe Xerini not native to Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area .... References *Thorington, R. W. Jr. and R. S. Hoffman. 2005. Family Sciuridae. Pp. 754–818 ''in'' Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder eds. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. External links Tree of Life: ''Spermophilopsis leptodactylus'' Mammals described in 1823 Mammals of Afghanistan Mammals of the Middle East Mammals of Central Asia Xerini Taxonomy articles create ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atlantoxerus
The Barbary ground squirrel (''Atlantoxerus getulus'') is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is monotypic within the genus ''Atlantoxerus''. It is endemic to the Atlas mountains in Morocco and some parts in Algeria, and has been introduced into the Canary Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, temperate grassland and rocky areas where it lives colonially in burrows. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. Description The Barbary ground squirrel is a small species growing to a length of between with a bushy tail of a similar length. It weighs up to and has short wiry hair. The general colour is greyish-brown or reddish-brown and there is a white stripe running along each side, and sometimes another along the spine. The belly is paler grey and the tail is longitudinally barred in black and grey.Thorington, R. W. Jr. and R. S. Hoffman. 2005. Family Sciuridae. pp. 754 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Epixerus
''Epixerus ebii'', also known as Ebian's palm squirrel, Temminck's giant squirrel, or the western palm squirrel, is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is the only species in the genus ''Epixerus'', although eastern populations (subspecies ''Epixerus ebii wilsoni'') were previously regarded as a separate species, ''E. wilsoni''. It is found in West and Central Africa. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby .... References Mammals of West Africa Fauna of Central Africa Mammals described in 1853 Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Squirrel-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tamias
''Tamias'' is a genus of chipmunks in the tribe Marmotini of the squirrel family. The genus includes a single living species, the eastern chipmunk (''Tamias striatus''). The genus name ''Tamias'' ( el, ταμίας) means "treasurer", "steward", or "housekeeper", which is a reference to the animals' role in plant dispersal through their habit of collecting and storing food for winter use. The genus ''Tamias'' was formerly divided into three subgenera that, in sum, included all chipmunk species: ''Tamias'', the eastern chipmunk and other fossil species; ''Eutamias'', of which the Siberian chipmunk (''E. sibiricus'') is the only living member; and ''Neotamias'', which includes the 23 remaining, mostly western, species. These classifications are subjective, and most taxonomies over the twentieth century have placed the chipmunks in a single genus. However, studies of mitochondrial DNA show that the divergence between each of the three chipmunk groups is comparable to the genetic di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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