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African Ground Squirrel
Xerini is a tribe of ground squirrels occurring in Africa and Asia. With the tribes Marmotini ( Holarctic ground squirrels) and Protoxerini (African tree squirrels), they form the subfamily Xerinae. There are five living genera—'' Xerus'', the unstriped ground squirrel; '' Euxerus'', the striped ground squirrel; ''Geosciurus'', the Cape and mountain ground squirrels; '' Atlantoxerus'', containing the living Barbary ground squirrel of North Africa and some extinct species; and ''Spermophilopsis'', containing the long-clawed ground squirrel of Central Asia. The squirrels live in open woodlands, grasslands, or rocky country. They are diurnal and terrestrial, living in burrows. Their diet is roots, seeds, fruits, pods, grains, insects, small vertebrates and bird eggs. They live in colonies similar to North American prairie dogs, and have similar behavior. If kept as pets, they run free as house cats do, otherwise farmers consider them pests. Breeding in South African ground squi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oligocene
The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the epoch are slightly uncertain. The name Oligocene was coined in 1854 by the German paleontologist Heinrich Ernst Beyrich from his studies of marine beds in Belgium and Germany. The name comes from the Ancient Greek (''olígos'', "few") and (''kainós'', "new"), and refers to the sparsity of extant forms of molluscs. The Oligocene is preceded by the Eocene Epoch and is followed by the Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recent" ... Epoch. The Oligocene is the third and final epoch of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xerus Erythropus
The striped ground squirrel (''Euxerus erythropus'') is a species of squirrel native to Africa. It was first described by Geoffroy in 1803, but the original publication may be unavailable, so that the binomial authority is today more often cited as " Desmarest, 1817". There are six subspecies. It is a moderately large ground squirrel with sandy-brown or dark-brown fur with a white lateral stripe and whitish underparts. Adults live alone or in pairs in a simple burrow with a central nest, foraging, mostly on the ground, for seeds, nuts and roots, and caching excess food under stones. This is a common species with a wide range and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of " least concern". Description Striped ground squirrels are moderately large ground squirrels, ranging from in length, with a tail that, at , is nearly as long as the body. Adults weigh between . They have a coat of short, bristly fur, and are pale sandy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xerini
Xerini is a tribe of ground squirrels occurring in Africa and Asia. With the tribes Marmotini (Holarctic ground squirrels) and Protoxerini (African tree squirrels), they form the subfamily Xerinae. There are five living genera—'' Xerus'', the unstriped ground squirrel; '' Euxerus'', the striped ground squirrel; '' Geosciurus'', the Cape and mountain ground squirrels; '' Atlantoxerus'', containing the living Barbary ground squirrel of North Africa and some extinct species; and '' Spermophilopsis'', containing the long-clawed ground squirrel of Central Asia. The squirrels live in open woodlands, grasslands, or rocky country. They are diurnal and terrestrial, living in burrows. Their diet is roots, seeds, fruits, pods, grains, insects, small vertebrates and bird eggs. They live in colonies similar to North American prairie dogs, and have similar behavior. If kept as pets, they run free as house cats do, otherwise farmers consider them pests. Breeding in South African ground squ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Long-clawed Ground Squirrel
The long-clawed ground squirrel (''Spermophilopsis leptodactylus'') is a squirrel species native to grasslands and deserts in northeastern Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, northwestern Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. It is the only member of the tribe Xerini not native to Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area .... 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. External links Tree of Life: ''Spermophilopsis leptodactylus'' Mammals described in 1823 Mammals of Afghanistan Mammals of the Middle East Mammals of Central Asia Xerini Taxonomy articles cre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mountain Ground Squirrel
The mountain ground squirrel (''Geosciurus princeps'') is a rodent that is native to southwestern Angola, western Namibia, and western South Africa. It is also known as the Kaoko ground squirrel or the Damara ground squirrel. It is the closest relative of the Cape ground squirrel (Latin name ''Geosciurus inauris''), which is so similar in appearance that the two are difficult to distinguish in the field. Both species have long bushy black and white tails with a white stripe from the shoulder towards the rump. ''Geosciurus princeps'' is slightly larger, on average, than ''G. inauris'', although there is considerable overlap in body size. Differences in skull morphology also distinguish the two species, and the incisors are yellow to orange rather than white as in ''G. inauris''. Distribution The mountain ground squirrel is restricted to a narrow band of the southwest arid region of Africa from southern Angola to southern Namibia and as far south as Richtersveld National Park. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cape Ground Squirrel
The Cape ground squirrel or South African ground squirrel (''Geosciurus inauris'') is found in most of the drier parts of southern Africa from South Africa, through to Botswana, and into Namibia, including Etosha National Park. The name ''Cape'' ground squirrel is somewhat misleading as it actually has a much wider area of habitation. This common name may have been arrived at to distinguish it from a tree squirrel (the eastern grey squirrel) found around Cape Town, which was imported from Europe by Cecil John Rhodes. The species has also been known as the fan-tailed squirrel. Description The Cape ground squirrel has black skin with a coat made of short stiff hairs without underfur. The fur is cinnamon on the back while the face, underbelly, sides of neck and ventral sides of limbs are white.Skurski, D., J. Waterman. 2005. "Xerus inauris", ''Mammalian Species'' 781:1-4. The sides of its body each have a white stripe that stretches from the shoulders to the thighs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Long-clawed Ground Squirrel
The long-clawed ground squirrel (''Spermophilopsis leptodactylus'') is a squirrel species native to grasslands and deserts in northeastern Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, northwestern Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. It is the only member of the tribe Xerini not native to Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area .... 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. External links Tree of Life: ''Spermophilopsis leptodactylus'' Mammals described in 1823 Mammals of Afghanistan Mammals of the Middle East Mammals of Central Asia Xerini Taxonomy articles cre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barbary Ground Squirrel
The Barbary ground squirrel (''Atlantoxerus getulus'') is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is monotypic within the genus ''Atlantoxerus''. It is endemic to the Atlas mountains in Morocco and some parts in Algeria, and has been introduced into the Canary Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, temperate grassland and rocky areas where it lives colonially in burrows. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. Description The Barbary ground squirrel is a small species growing to a length of between with a bushy tail of a similar length. It weighs up to and has short wiry hair. The general colour is greyish-brown or reddish-brown and there is a white stripe running along each side, and sometimes another along the spine. The belly is paler grey and the tail is longitudinally barred in black and grey.Thorington, R. W. Jr. and R. S. Hoffman. 2005. Family Sciuridae. pp. 754–8 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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