Allen's chipmunk (''Neotamias senex'') is a species of
chipmunk
Chipmunks are small, striped rodents of the family Sciuridae. Chipmunks are found in North America, with the exception of the Siberian chipmunk which is found primarily in Asia.
Taxonomy and systematics
Chipmunks may be classified either as ...
. It is also known as the shadow chipmunk.
It is native to the western United States, where it occurs in
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
,
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...
, and
Oregon
Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...
. It is a common species of the
Sierra Nevada.
''Neotamias senex's'' length measures about 229-261 mm. Female chipmunks are larger compared to males, with a dimorphism ratio of 1.033. Females weigh around 73.0 grams to 108.5 grams, while males weigh 66.8 grams to 99.3 grams.
This chipmunk generally prefers mature coniferous forests and
chaparral slopes dominated by
ponderosa pine
''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is the ...
,
Jeffrey pine,
sugar pine,
black oak
Black Oak may refer to:
Places in the United States
* Black Oak, Arkansas
* Black Oak, Daviess County, Indiana
* Black Oak, Lake County, Indiana, a neighborhood of Gary, Indiana
* Black Oak, Missouri
Other
* Black Oak Arkansas
Black Oak Ar ...
,
Douglas fir,
white fir
''Abies concolor'', the white fir, is a coniferous tree in the pine family Pinaceae. This tree is native to the mountains of western North America, including the Cascade Range and southern Rocky Mountains, and into the isolated mountain ranges ...
,
red fir
''Abies magnifica'', the red fir or silvertip fir, is a western North American fir, native to the mountains of southwest Oregon and California in the United States. It is a high-elevation tree, typically occurring at elevation, though only rare ...
,
incense cedar
''Calocedrus'', the incense cedar (alternatively spelled incense-cedar), is a genus of coniferous trees in the cypress family Cupressaceae first described as a genus in 1873. It is native to eastern Asia and western North America.
The generic n ...
, and
mountain hemlock
''Tsuga mertensiana'', known as mountain hemlock, is a species of hemlock native to the west coast of North America, found between Southcentral Alaska and south-central California.
Description
''Tsuga mertensiana'' is a large evergreen conifer ...
. The shrub layer includes
buckbrush,
manzanita
Manzanita is a common name for many species of the genus ''Arctostaphylos''. They are evergreen shrubs or small trees present in the chaparral biome of western North America, where they occur from Southern British Columbia and Washington to Or ...
,
blackberry
The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus''. The taxonomy ...
, and
chinquapin. A study in the Sierra Nevada found that Allen's chipmunk was more abundant in red fir than in mixed conifer woodland.
Like other chipmunks, Allen's chipmunk is omnivorous. Their diet consists largely of vegetation: mushrooms, berries, nuts, shoots, seeds and grains. But chipmunks also eat other animals, including insects, frogs, bird eggs and occasionally baby birds. They are in turn prey for minks, weasels, and owls. Allen's chipmunk is active all year round except during stretches of harsh winter weather.
References
Further reading
*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.
Neotamias
Fauna of California
Fauna of the Sierra Nevada (United States)
Biota of Oregon
Natural history of Nevada
Mammals of the United States
Mammals described in 1890
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
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