The Alashan ground squirrel (''Spermophilus alashanicus'') is a species of squirrel. It is native to China and

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 millio ...

. This squirrel lives at elevations up to 3200 meters. It lives on the

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslan ...

and in foothills and alpine meadows. In China it can be found in desert habitat. It is associated with the plant species ''

Amygdalus pedunculata ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'' is a subgenus of ''Prunus''. This subgenus includes plums, apricots and bush cherries. Most species inside this subgenus bear fruit that is sugary, storing large amounts of energy, which is why most ''Prunus'' species' ...

'' and '' A. polyrrhizum''. This species is long. It is brown or gray with a pale underside. In the summer it develops a chestnut wash along the shoulders. Most babies are born in June, with litter sizes ranging from one to nine.

References

Spermophilus Mammals described in 1888 Taxa named by Eugen Büchner Mammals of Mongolia Rodents of China Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{ground-squirrel-stub