''Spermophilus brevicauda'' (Brandt’s ground squirrel) is a species of

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal specie ...

in the family

Sciuridae Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae (), a family that includes small or medium-sized rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrel ...

. It is found in eastern

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

and the northern half of the

Xinjiang Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...

region of China. A generic revision of the genus was undertaken in 2007 which helped resolve the uncertainty as to whether this species should be considered a subspecies of '' Spermophilus erythrogenys''. A phylogeny based on molecular sequence data determined that ''S. brevicauda'' was indeed a separate species from ''S. erythrogenys'', and from the other similar species in the genus, ''S. pallidicauda'' and ''S. alashanicus''.

Distribution

Brandt's ground squirrel is found from the Lake Zaysan region in eastern Kazakhstan, southwards and westwards along the

Tian Shan The Tian Shan, also known as the Tengri Tagh or Tengir-Too, meaning the "Mountains of God/Heaven", is a large system of mountain ranges in Central Asia. The highest peak is Jengish Chokusu at high and located in Kyrgyzstan. Its lowest point is ...

mountain range to the vicinity of

Almaty Almaty, formerly Alma-Ata, is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population exceeding two million residents within its metropolitan area. Located in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains ...

, on both sides of the Kazakh-Chinese border. The closely related species, '' Spermophilus alashanicus'' from the Alashan Desert and '' Spermophilus pallidicauda'', found in north east

Gansu Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Ti ...

and

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of China. Its border includes two-thirds of the length of China's China–Mongolia border, border with the country of Mongolia. ...

, are

allopatric Allopatric speciation () – also referred to as geographic speciation, vicariant speciation, or its earlier name the dumbbell model – is a mode of speciation that occurs when biological populations become geographically isolated from ...

in distribution, separated as they are by geographic boundaries.

Description

Brandt's ground squirrel is smaller than most other ''Spermophilus'' species being 165 to 210 millimetres long with a short tail some 30 to 50 millimetres long and weighing up to 440 grams. It is an ochre brown colour with distinctive lighter coloured spots. The hind feet are russet as is the tail, though in some parts of the range the tail is yellowish. There are paler regions around the eyes with rust coloured patches above and below.

Biology

This species is found in dry steppes and semi-desert brushlands. It lives either communally or singly in burrows where it hibernates in winter and aestivates in excessive summer heat. The entrance to the burrow is often found at the base of a bush. The diet is primarily vegetarian consisting of seasonal plant growthSmith, A.T. and Johnston, C.H. 2008. Spermophilus brevicauda including young shoots of certain shrubs, bulbs and tubers. Unlike some other related species, Brandt's ground squirrel seldom stands erect on its two hind legs and its alarm cry is a quiet squeak.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1765678 Brevicauda Mammals described in 1844 Taxa named by Johann Friedrich von Brandt