The speckled ground squirrel or spotted souslik (''Spermophilus suslicus'') is a species of

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...

in the family

Sciuridae Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. Squ ...

from

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...

. ''Spermophilus suslicus'' consists of three subspecies: ''S. s. boristhenicus'', ''S. s. guttatus'', and ''S. s. suslicus.'' 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 ...

Description

The speckled ground squirrel has dark-brown fur with white spots on its back and a short, thin tail. It grows to a length of and a weight of . Its

dental formula Dentition pertains to the development of teeth and their arrangement in the mouth. In particular, it is the characteristic arrangement, kind, and number of teeth in a given species at a given age. That is, the number, type, and morpho-physiolo ...

is . It is smaller and less social than many other ground squirrels of the genus ''

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 ...

''.

Distribution

It is found in

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

European Russia European Russia (russian: Европейская Россия, russian: европейская часть России, label=none) is the western and most populated part of Russia. It is geographically situated in Europe, as opposed to the cou ...

, and

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

is temperate

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

and it is also found on cultivated ground. It is threatened by the loss and fragmentation of its habitat. Causes of habitat loss include the expansion of agriculture and forestry, the reduction of pasturing, the development and growth of cities, and industrial development. Also, in some areas it is hunted as an agricultural pest. The speckled ground squirrel's range in Poland and southern Russia has contracted markedly, with only 10% of its area in the mid-twentieth century currently remaining. At the current rate of contraction of its range, the speckled ground squirrel will be extinct from Poland within the next couple decades.

Behavior

The speckled ground squirrel is a diurnal species which hibernates from October to April. It is active in the morning once the sun warms the area slightly, retreats to its underground den during the heat of the day, then reemerges late in the day for another feeding bout. It feeds mostly on grasses and cereals, although small vertebrates and arthropods are also eaten. Compared with other ''Spermophilus'' species, it lives in a relatively closed habitat with high grasses that block visibility during its active seasons. Individuals live in separate burrows within a larger colony. These colonies can be up to over 160 individuals per ha. It mates between April and May. Gestation ranges from 23 to 26 days. Four to eight cubs are born per litter. Sporadic hybridization occurs where ''S. suslicus'' occurs sympatrically with ''S. pygmaeus'' and ''S. citellus''.

Predators

Though there have been no quantitative studies on all the predators of ''S. suslicus'', the weasel ''

Mustela nivalis The least weasel (''Mustela nivalis''), little weasel, common weasel, or simply weasel is the smallest member of the genus '' Mustela,'' family Mustelidae and order Carnivora. It is native to Eurasia, North America and North Africa, and has bee ...

'' has been known to enter burrows and cause significant juvenile mortality, though it does not attack adults. However, conspecific predation may be more of a threat to the juvenile speckled ground squirrel than interspecific predators. Though

infanticide Infanticide (or infant homicide) is the intentional killing of infants or offspring. Infanticide was a widespread practice throughout human history that was mainly used to dispose of unwanted children, its main purpose is the prevention of reso ...

in the wild has not yet been reported, the speckled ground squirrel has been infanticidal in captivity. The killer can be male, female, or both, and either eats the young or attacks and leaves it to die.

Alarm call

The speckled ground squirrel uses

alarm call In animal communication, an alarm signal is an antipredator adaptation in the form of signals emitted by social animals in response to danger. Many primates and birds have elaborate alarm calls for warning conspecifics of approaching predators ...

s for a variety of purposes. Primarily, the alarm call is used to warn conspecific squirrels of predators and to alert predators that they've been detected Matrosova, Vera A., Daniel T. Blumstein, Ilya A. Volodin, Elena V. Volodina. "The potential to encode sex, age, and individual identity in the alarm calls of three species of Marmotinae." ''Naturwissenschaften'' (2011). 98:181-192. doi

/ref> Individual-specific alarm calls have been seen in ''Spermophilus suslicus'' which also contain age-related features but they lack the ability to distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar individuals nor can they distinguish sex.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q854681 Spermophilus Mammals described in 1770 Taxa named by Johann Anton Güldenstädt Taxonomy articles created by Polbot