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Uinta Ground Squirrel
Urocitellus armatus (Kennicott, 1863)
Also calledArdilla Terrestre Uinta (spa) · Citello di Uinta (ita) · Esquilo-terrestre-de-uinita (por) · susłogon bylicowy (pol) · sysel horský (ces) · ylänkösiiseli (fin) · Εδαφόβιος Σκίουρος των Γιούτα (ell) · Уинтский суслик (rus) · ユインタジリス (jpn)
The Uinta ground squirrel (Urocitellus armatus), commonly called a "chisler" and Potgut in northern Utah, is a species of rodent native to the western United States.
Descriptions from checklists and floras indexed by GBIF
biology_ecology
Habitat. Large open meadows at high elevations near timberline. The Uinta Ground Squirrel can inhabit dry meadows and shrub-steppe communities and can be found in agricultural and rangelands. Food and Feeding. The Uinta Ground Squirrel is a generalist herbivore, with grasses comprising most of its diet, but seasonal variation is reported. Immediately following emergence, 90 % of the diet consists of grass leaves, but this food component later decreases when leaves of forbs and grass seeds are added. Sagebrush (Artemisia, Asteraceae) leaves, earthworms, and roots are also eaten. They will eat insects and scavenge animaltissue; infanticide and cannibalism have been occasionally reported. Breeding. The Uinta Ground Squirrel inhabits burrows with a vegetation-lined nest chamber in which young are born. Males exhibit territorial behavior soon after emergence and scent-mark by rubbing their cheeks on the ground. Female distribution, however, often causes males to shift territories. Breeding occurs within ¢. 30 days of emergence. Aggression between males — fighting, biting, and some vocalizations — is common during breeding season. Females are in estrus for less than one day, usually 2 -
Sciuridae
conservation
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Population trend of the Uinta Ground Squirrel is unknown. Locally considered to be a pest, it is sometimes removed by shooting, poisoning, or trapping. Sagebrush steppe habitat has been declining due to conversion to grazing and agricultural lands, alternative energy development, and human habitation.
Sciuridae
description
Descriptive notes. Head-body mean 223 - 5 mm (males) and 216 - 7 mm (females), tail mean 71 - 8 mm (males) and 69 - 2 mm (females); weight mean 394 - 9 g (males) and 347 - 3 g (females). The Uinta Ground Squirrel is small and has gray-totan dorsum, without visible spots or lines; venter is gray to buff. Tail is modest and brown to black, with pale frosting on edges and gray on its underside. Chromosomal complement is 2 n = 34 and FN = 64. Karyotype consists of ten pairs of metacentric autosomes, six pairs of submetacentric autosomes, submetacentric X-chromosome, and acrocentric Y-chromosome.
Sciuridae
distribution
Distribution. SE Idaho, SW Montana, W Wyoming, and SC Utah (USA).
Sciuridae
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Description
The Uinta ground squirrel is a moderately sized ground squirrel, measuring 28 to 30 cm (11 to 12 in) in total length. They weigh about 210 g (7.4 oz) when they emerge from hibernation, a figure that steadily increases until they are ready to hibernate again in the fall. Their fur is brown to cinnamon in color, being paler on the underside and grey on the sides of the head and neck. The 6 to 8 cm (2.4 to 3.1 in) tail is buff with a grey underside, as distinct from the ochraceous or reddish color found in closely related species such as Belding's or Wyoming ground squirrels. Females have ten teats.
Range & habitat
First described from the Uinta Mountains, the squirrels are found in Wyoming west of the Green River, in southwestern Montana, eastern Idaho, and northern and central Utah. They inhabit open areas, such as meadows, pasture, and shrub-steppe habitats, at elevations between 1,220 and 2,440 m (4,000 and 8,010 ft). There are no recognised subspecies.
What it does
Uinta ground squirrels are primarily herbivorous, and mostly eat grass, seeds, and the leaves of forbs, along with a small amount of earthworms and discarded human food. The exact composition of the diet changes throughout the year. They have been observed to have a preference for common dandelions, Taraxacum officinale, in their feeding habits. Their most common predators are coyotes, badgers, weasels, and raptors. Although they often live in colonies, adults react aggressively towards one another outside of the breeding season, with females being more intolerant than males. Males mark their territories with scent glands in their cheeks, which they rub on the ground, but do not mark the entrances to their burrows. The squirrels greet one another by sniffing, escalating to threat postures and bristling the hair on their tails, and eventually to wrestling, boxing, and chasing if the intruder does not retreat. The squirrels make six distinct vocalisations: chirps, squeals, squawks, trills, growls, and teeth clattering. These are used primarily as a means of gaining attention, and all are used in aggressive interactions between individuals. …
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Every page naming Urocitellus armatus in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
From the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and occurrence records (GBIF.org), with Wikipedia and the Source Library. GBIF species 8151861.