| Otospermophilus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Rock squirrel at the Grand Canyon | |
Scientific classification
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Sciuridae |
| Tribe: | Marmotini |
| Genus: |
Otospermophilus Brandt, 1844 |
| Species | |
Otospermophilus is a genus of ground squirrels in the family Sciuridae, containing three species from Mexico and the United States. Otospermophilus was formerly placed in the large ground squirrel genus Spermophilus, as a subgenus or species group. Since DNA sequencing of the cytochrome b gene has shown Spermophilus to be paraphyletic to the prairie dogs and marmots, [1] it is now separated, along with six other genera. [2]
Species
The three species in Otospermophilus are listed below. These are the same species that were previously grouped in the subgenus Otospermophilus. [2]
- Baja California rock squirrel, Otospermophilus atricapillus
- California ground squirrel, Otospermophilus beecheyi
- Rock squirrel, Otospermophilus variegatus
References
- ^ Herron, Matthew D.; Castoe, Todd A.; Parkinson, Christopher L. (2004). "Sciurid phylogeny and the paraphyly of Holarctic ground squirrels (Spermophilus)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 31 (3): 1015–30. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2003.09.015. PMID 15120398.
- ^ a b Helgen, Kristofer M.; Cole, F. Russel; Helgen, Lauren E. & Wilson, Don E (2009). "Generic Revision in the Holarctic Ground Squirrel Genus Spermophilus". Journal of Mammalogy. 90 (2): 270–305. doi: 10.1644/07-MAMM-A-309.1.
External links
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Media related to
Otospermophilus at Wikimedia Commons -
Data related to
Otospermophilus at Wikispecies
