Merriam's ground squirrel (''Urocitellus canus'') 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 n ...

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 ...

. It occurs in the western United States in

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

, and

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

Description

Merriam's ground squirrel is a small, grey,

ground squirrel Ground squirrels are members of the squirrel family of rodents ( Sciuridae), which generally live on or in the ground, rather than trees. The term is most often used for the medium-sized ground squirrels, as the larger ones are more commonly known ...

with a relatively nondescript appearance. Adults range from in head-body length, with a tail. Although their weight varies throughout the year, depending on nutrition, typical adult weights of have been recorded for females, and for males. The fur is short and lacks any distinctive markings such as stripes or spots. It is greyish buff over most of the body, and pale buff to white on the underparts. The tail is relatively short and narrow compared with most other related ground squirrels, and the ears are small. However, it can only be reliably distinguished from

Townsend's ground squirrel Townsend's ground squirrel (''Urocitellus townsendii'') is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is found in high desert shrublands in several areas of the United States. Distribution Townsend's ground squirrel is found in the Great Ba ...

and the Piute ground squirrel by genetic testing, and, for a long time, these species were not considered to be separate.

Distribution and habitat

The species is found throughout much of

, although not in the northern and western regions of the state. Some populations extend south of the state line into the extreme north-eastern corner of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

and the extreme north-western corner of

, while other populations extend along the west bank of the Snake River into western

. Two subspecies are generally recognised: * ''Urocitellus canus canus'' - Oregon, California, Nevada * ''Urocitellus canus vigilis'' - Snake River region (eastern Oregon, western Idaho) The native habitat of Merriam's ground squirrel is arid chaparral environments dominated by

sagebrush Sagebrush is the common name of several woody and herbaceous species of plants in the genus '' Artemisia''. The best known sagebrush is the shrub '' Artemisia tridentata''. Sagebrushes are native to the North American west. Following is an al ...

, and, to a lesser extent, by greasewood and

shadscale ''Atriplex confertifolia'', the shadscale or spiny saltbush, is a species of evergreen shrub in the family Amaranthaceae, which is native to the western United States and northern Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Me ...

. It is sometimes found in marginal juniper woodland and can be common in man-made pasture and fields.

Behavior

Merriam's ground squirrel is a diurnal omnivore, feeding on a wide range of seeds, roots, and bulbs, as well as on insects, such as

cicada The cicadas () are a superfamily, the Cicadoidea, of insects in the order Hemiptera (true bugs). They are in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, along with smaller jumping bugs such as leafhoppers and froghoppers. The superfamily is divided into tw ...

s. Although relatively little of its native habitat has been converted into farmland, where it does inhabit agricultural land, it may eat domesticated grains or alfalfa, and be considered as a pest. Known predators include barn owls and

great horned owl The great horned owl (''Bubo virginianus''), also known as the tiger owl (originally derived from early naturalists' description as the "winged tiger" or "tiger of the air"), or the hoot owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an extre ...

s, and presumably also include hawks, snakes, and various carnivorous mammals. They construct burrows, and rarely wander far from their entrances, typically having a home range of less than . They spend most of the year hibernating; although there is some variation with local habitat, they generally emerge in early March, and become dormant again in early August. They give birth to a single litter of up to ten young each year in late April or early May. The gestation period and duration of weaning are unknown, but are probably each in the range of three to four weeks. They are quiet and secretive animals, with a shrill, squeaking, alarm call, and have been observed to climb low bushes in search of food and to be good swimmers.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q1761219, from2=Q21730459 Urocitellus Endemic fauna of the United States Fauna of the Western United States Fauna of the Great Basin Mammals of the United States Mammals described in 1898 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot