''Tamias'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

chipmunk Chipmunks are small, striped rodents of subtribe Tamiina. Chipmunks are found in North America, with the exception of the Siberian chipmunk which is found primarily in Asia. Taxonomy and systematics Chipmunks are classified as four genera: '' ...

s in the tribe Marmotini of the

squirrel 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 ...

family. The genus includes a single living species, the eastern chipmunk (''Tamias striatus''). The genus name ''Tamias'' () means "treasurer", "steward", or "housekeeper", which is a reference to the animals' role in plant dispersal through their habit of collecting and storing food for winter use. The genus ''Tamias'' was formerly divided into three subgenera that, in sum, included all chipmunk species: ''Tamias'', the eastern chipmunk and other fossil species; '' Eutamias'', of which the

Siberian chipmunk The Siberian chipmunk (''Eutamias sibiricus''), also called common chipmunk, is a species of chipmunk native to northern Asia from central Russia to China, Korea, and Hokkaidō in northern Japan. It was imported from South Korea and introduced i ...

(''E. sibiricus'') is the only living member; and '' Neotamias'', which includes the 23 remaining, mostly western, species. These classifications are subjective, and most taxonomies over the twentieth century have placed the chipmunks in a single genus. However, studies of

mitochondrial DNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA and mDNA) is the DNA located in the mitochondrion, mitochondria organelles in a eukaryotic cell that converts chemical energy from food into adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA is a small portion of the D ...

show that the divergence between each of the three chipmunk groups is comparable to the genetic dissimilarity between '' Marmota'' and ''

Spermophilus ''Spermophilus'' is a genus of ground squirrels in the Sciuridae, squirrel family. As traditionally defined the genus was very species-rich, ranging through Europe, Asia and North America, but this arrangement was found to be paraphyletic to ...

'', so they are now often considered as separate genera. In addition to the eastern chipmunk, some fossil species from

Eurasia Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, Physical geography, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents d ...

have been assigned to this genus: *'' Tamias allobrogensis''; Mein and Ginsburg, 2002 – Miocene of France *'' Tamias anatoliensis''; Bosma et al., 2013 – Miocene of Turkey *'' Tamias atsali''; De Bruijn, 1995 – Pliocene of Greece *'' Tamias eviensis''; De Bruijn et al., 1980 – Miocene of GreeceDoukas, 2003, table 2 *'' Tamias urialis''; Munthe, 1980, described from the Miocene of Pakistan, may be more closely related to '' Tamiops''.Qiu et al., 2008, p. 115 One American fossil species, '' Tamias aristus'' from the late Pleistocene, has been identified.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q22364 Rodent genera Extant Miocene first appearances Taxa named by Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger Mammal genera with one living species Articles containing video clips