iPedia Free Information Center

Information about Round Tailed Ground Squirrel

Round-tailed Ground Squirrel

Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Subphylum:Vertebrata
Class:Mammalia
Order:Rodentia
Family:Sciuridae
Tribe:Marmotini
Genus:Spermophilus
Species:S. tereticaudus
Binomial name
Spermophilus tereticaudus
Baird, 1858
Subspecies


S. t. chlorus
S. t. tereticaudus
Round-tailed Ground Squirrels (Spermophilus tereticaudus), known as "Ardillón cola redonda" in Spanish, live in the desert of the Southwestern United States and adjacent Mexico. They are called "ground squirrels" because they burrow in loose soil, often under mesquite trees and creosote bushes.

Characteristics

Most round-tailed ground squirrels are very small. Weight at birth is approximately 3.9 grams. Adults weigh around 125 grams (roughly four ounces).[1] All have a long round tail and long, hairy hind feet. They have no fur markings, instead having a uniform sandy color, which matches the soil they burrow in. The underside of their body is usually a lighter shade.

Lifecycle

The gestation period is 28 days. An average of 5.4 pups are born in each litter. They reach sexual maturity at 325 days. The maximum longevity is less than nine years. [2] They are prey animals for coyotes, badgers, and snakes.

Behavior

Ground squirrels are well-adapted to desert life. They can stay active even on the hottest of days though they do tend to limit their activity during the heat of the afternoon sun. They live underground in the winter, typically from late August or September until January or February. They go into torpor but they do not hibernate.

Social Structure

They have a semicolonial social structure, and will alert others of impending danger with a high-pitched alarm call. But they will chase away other ground squirrels who get too close to their own burrow. The males are dominant during breeding season (January through March). The females dominate during raising of the young (March and April).[3]

Enlarge picture
A ground squirrel munches a velvet mesquite pod

Diet

They are omnivores. The bulk of their diet is green vegetation, especially in the summer. They also eat seeds and insects (ants, termites, and grasshoppers). Most of their foods are chosen for high water content because of the shortage of available water in their environment. The average water content of the food they eat is 80%.[4]

References

1. ^ AnAge entry for Spermophilus tereticaudus (HAGRID 03372),
2. ^ AnAge entry for Spermophilus tereticaudus (HAGRID 03372),
3. ^ Dunford, C. 1977. Kin selection for ground squirrel alarm calls. American Naturalist, 58: 782-785.
4. ^ Ernest, K., M. Mares. February 27 1987. Mammalian Species. The American Society of Mammalogists.

External Links

conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing the conservation status of a species: not simply the number remaining, but the
..... Click the link for more information.
Least Concern (LC) is an IUCN category assigned to extant species or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, nor Near Threatened, nor (prior to 2001) Conservation Dependent.
..... Click the link for more information.
Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. Scientific classification also can be called scientific taxonomy, but should be distinguished from folk taxonomy, which lacks scientific basis.
..... Click the link for more information.
Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled until (UTC) due to vandalism.
If you are prevented from editing this page, and you wish to make a change, please discuss changes on the talk page, request unprotection, log in, or
..... Click the link for more information.
Chordata
Bateson, 1885

Typical Classes

See below

Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates.
..... Click the link for more information.
Vertebrata
Cuvier, 1812

Classes and Clades

See below
Vertebrates are members of the subphylum Vertebrata (within the phylum Chordata), specifically, those chordates with backbones or spinal columns.
..... Click the link for more information.
Mammalia
Linnaeus, 1758

Subclasses & Infraclasses
  • Subclass †Allotheria*
  • Subclass Prototheria
  • Subclass Theria

..... Click the link for more information.
Rodentia
Bowdich, 1821

Suborders

Sciuromorpha
Castorimorpha
Myomorpha
Anomaluromorpha
Hystricomorpha
Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents
..... Click the link for more information.
Sciuridae
Fischer de Waldheim, 1817

Subfamilies
  • Subfamily Ratufinae
  • Subfamily Sciurillinae
  • Subfamily Sciurinae
  • Tribe Sciurini
  • Tribe Pteromyini

..... Click the link for more information.
Marmotini
Pocock, 1923

Genera

Ammospermophilus
Spermophilus
Cynomys
Marmota
Tamias
Sciurotamias

The ground squirrels
..... Click the link for more information.
Spermophilus
F. Cuvier, 1825

Species

about 42: see text.

The genus Spermophilus is the largest genus of ground squirrels and the one that contains the species that are most common and familiar in North America.
..... Click the link for more information.
binomial nomenclature is the formal system of naming species. The system is also called binominal nomenclature (particularly in zoological circles), binary nomenclature (particularly in botanical circles), or the binomial classification system.
..... Click the link for more information.
Spencer Fullerton Baird (February 3, 1823 – August 19, 1887) was an American ornithologist and ichthyologist.

His Work

Baird was born in Reading, Pennsylvania.
..... Click the link for more information.
The introduction of this article is too short.
To comply with Wikipedia's lead section guidelines, it should be expanded.
Please discuss this issue on the talk page and read the lead section guide to make sure the introduction summarizes the article.
..... Click the link for more information.
Southwestern United States; commonly referred to as The Southwest; is a region of the western United States. Its population is less than three people per cubic mile.
..... Click the link for more information.
Anthem
Himno Nacional Mexicano


Capital
(and largest city) Mexico City

Official languages Spanish (
..... Click the link for more information.
Marmotini
Pocock, 1923

Genera

Ammospermophilus
Spermophilus
Cynomys
Marmota
Tamias
Sciurotamias

The ground squirrels
..... Click the link for more information.
Mesquite (from Nahuatl mizquitl) is a leguminous plant of the Prosopis genus found in Northern Mexico and the United States from the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas up to southwestern Kansas and from southeastern California and southwestern Utah to the southern limits
..... Click the link for more information.
Creosote is the name used for a variety of products: wood creosote, coal tar creosote, coal tar, coal tar pitch, and coal tar pitch volatiles. These products are mixtures of many chemicals such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), phenol, cresols created by
..... Click the link for more information.
The Gestation period in a viviparous animal is the length of its gestation. In humans this is 266 days (38 weeks), but varies for other animals. Gestation period is measured from conception to birth.

See also

  • mammalian gestation
  • pregnancy

..... Click the link for more information.
Longevity is a term that generally refers to 'long life' or 'great duration of life'.[1] Reflections on longevity have usually gone beyond acknowledging the basic shortness of human life and have included thinking about methods to extend life.
..... Click the link for more information.
desert is a landscape form or region that receives very little precipitation. Deserts are defined as areas that receive an average annual precipitation of less than 250 mm (10 in). In the Köppen climate classification system, deserts are classed as (BW).
..... Click the link for more information.
Torpor is a state of decreased physiological activity in an animal, usually characterized by a reduced body temperature and rate of metabolism. Animals that go through torpor include small birds like hummingbirds and some small mammals such as bats.
..... Click the link for more information.
Hibernation is a state of inactivity and metabolic depression in animals, characterized by lower body temperature, slower breathing, and lower metabolic rate. Hibernation conserves energy, especially during winter.
..... Click the link for more information.
An omnivore (from Latin: omne all, everything; vorare to devour) is a species of animal that eats both plants and animals as its primary food source.
..... Click the link for more information.


This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia.org - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of the wikipedia encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License.
Herod_Archelaus


page counter