The Menzbier's marmot (''Marmota menzbieri'') is a species of
rodent
Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal specie ...
in the family
Sciuridae
Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae (), a family that includes small or medium-sized rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrel ...
from
Central Asia
Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
.
Its name commemorates Russian zoologist
Mikhail Aleksandrovich Menzbier.
Distribution and habitat
It inhabits meadows and steppe at altitudes of in the western
Tien Shan Mountains of
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
,
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...
,
Uzbekistan
, image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg
, image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg
, symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem
, national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...
and far northern
Tajikistan
Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...
.
Conservation
It has the smallest range among the
Palearctic
The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa.
Th ...
species of
marmot
Marmots are large ground squirrels in the genus ''Marmota'', with 15 species living in Asia, Europe, and North America. These herbivores are active during the summer, when they can often be found in groups, but are not seen during the winter, w ...
and tends to occur in low densities, with a population estimate in 1998 indicating that there were a total of 22,000 individuals and an estimate in 2005 indicating that there were 20,000–25,000 individuals in Kazakhstan alone.
[ The ]IUCN
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...
considers it vulnerable with the main threat being habitat loss from expanding agriculture and a smaller threat being hunting for food.species group
In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...
, but they segregate by habitat, with the Menzbier's marmot preferring wetter areas at a higher altitude and with shorter grass.[
]
Description
It is the smallest Palearctic species of marmot with a head-and-body length if and a weight of .[ It is a relatively short-tailed species with a long and dense fur. Uniquely among marmots, it has dark upperparts and rear parts that contrast clearly with the pale underparts and frontal parts. Like other marmots, it gradually becomes darker overall as the season progresses.][
]
Taxonomy
The range of the Menzbier's marmot is split in two by the Pskem River and its valley. Although the two populations are very similar in their appearance, they are clearly separated genetically, leading to the recognition of the northern ''M. m. menzbieri'' and the southern subspecies
In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...
''M. m. zachidovi''.[ Menzbier's marmots ]hibernate
Hibernation is a state of minimal activity and metabolic reduction entered by some animal species. Hibernation is a seasonal heterothermy characterized by low body-temperature, slow breathing and heart-rate, and low metabolic rate. It is most ...
from August or September to April or May.[
]
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.
{{Authority control
Marmots
Mammals described in 1925
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot