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Old World Ground Squirrels
Spermophilus
Spermophilus, also known as the Old World ground squirrels, sousliks or, sometimes, spermophiles, is an Old World genus of ground squirrels in the squirrel family (Sciuridae). Formerly, the genus was more species rich, but it has since been reduced to contain only species from Eurasia, with many former species having been moved to other genera. The 18 known species are distributed across the Eurasian steppe belt and adjacent regions between Central Europe and Manchuria. They inhabit steppe and comparable short grassland habitats, including airports, as well semi-deserts and, in some cases, agricultural fields. Their diet is dominated by seeds, grasses, forbs, roots and tubers, but may also include small invertebrates. Spermophilus live in colonial burrows, and spend much of the year in hibernation and, in dry regions, aestivation.
18 branches of this genus, most-observed first · about 18 known species
European Ground Squirrel
speciesSpermophilus citellus
Russet Ground Squirrel
speciesSpermophilus major
Yellow Ground Squirrel
speciesSpermophilus fulvus
Caucasian Mountain Ground Squirrel
speciesSpermophilus musicus
Asia Minor Ground Squirrel
speciesSpermophilus xanthoprymnus
Red-cheeked Ground Squirrel
speciesSpermophilus erythrogenys
Vorontsov's Ground Squirrel
speciesSpermophilus vorontsovi
Little Ground Squirrel
speciesSpermophilus pygmaeus
Daurian Ground Squirrel
speciesSpermophilus dauricus
Alashan Ground Squirrel
speciesSpermophilus alaschanicus
Selevin's Ground Squirrel
speciesSpermophilus selevini
Podolian Ground Squirrel
speciesSpermophilus odessanus
Speckled Ground Squirrel
speciesSpermophilus suslicus
Relict Ground Squirrel
speciesSpermophilus relictus
Taurus Ground Squirrel
speciesSpermophilus taurensis
Pallid Ground Squirrel
speciesSpermophilus pallidicauda
Tien Shan Ground Squirrel
speciesSpermophilus nilkaensis
Brandt's Ground Squirrel
speciesSpermophilus brevicauda
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Spermophilus in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 179974.