Spermophilus erythrogenys Brandt 1841
Creators: name: Wilson, Don E.
name: Thomas E. Lacher, Jr
name: Mittermeier, Russell A.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Rodentia
Sciuridae
Spermophilus
Spermophilus erythrogenys

description: 235. Red-cheeked Ground Squirrel <i>Spermophilus erythrogenys</i> <b>French:</b> Spermophile a joues rouges / <b>German:</b> Rotwangenziesel / <b>Spanish:</b> Ardila terrestre de mejillas rojas <b>Taxonomy.</b> Spermophilus erythrogenys Brandt, 1841, “...vicinity of Barnaul [Altaisk Krai, Russia].” Molecular genetic analysis demonstrates that S. erythrogenys hybridizes with S. major between the Tobol and Ishim rivers in northern Kazakhstan and southern Russia. Monotypic. <b>Distribution.</b> SW Siberia (Russia) and NE Kazakhstan. <b>Descriptive notes.</b> Head-body mean 187-8 mm (males) and 192-8 mm (females), tail mean 41-3 mm (males) and 46-1 mm (females); weight mean 355 g. The Red-cheeked Ground Squirrel is medium-sized and has pale yellow-straw-gray dorsum, with faint whitish speckling;sides are suffused with rust and patterned with straw-yellow spots. Head is gray-brown or gray-straw, sometimes with brilliant chestnut-brown to red spot beneath eyes. Tail is short, with same grizzled dorsal color. Venteris straw gray. <b>Habitat.</b> Xeric plains, typically with dry steppe and semi-desert vegetation. In the northern parts of its distribution, the Red-cheeked Ground Squirrel lives on edges of birch (Betula, Betulaceae) and European aspen (Populus tremula, Saliaceae) forests; in the south, itis found in foothills and mountains at elevations up to ¢.2100 m. It can live in modestly degraded rangelands. <b>Food and Feeding.</b> The Red-cheeked Ground Squirrel is an herbivore, feeding mostly grass and forb seeds, including some cereals and other grains. It will occasionally eat insects or scavenge animal matter. <b>Breeding.</b> The Red-cheeked Ground Squirrel inhabits burrows with a vegetation-lined nest chamber in which young are born. Males appear to emerge slightly before females in spring. Litter sizes are large, reportedly 7-9 young. <b>Activity patterns.</b> The Red-cheeked Ground Squirrel is diurnal and is active aboveground in late spring and summer;it hibernates from late August until late March-April in simple but deep burrows. <b>Movements, Home range and Social organization.</b> The Red-cheeked Ground Squirrel appears to be solitary and lives in loose but often large colonies. High-pitched vocalizations are frequently heard at colonies. <b>Status and Conservation.</b> Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Redcheeked Ground Squirrel is typically common throughout its distribution and has large populations. Population trend is stable, but challenges to conservation are likely due to habitat fragmentation, poisoning, and range degradation. Conservation and management on natural landscapes are hindered by lack of information on its natural history and basic ecology. It seems to tolerate modest levels of range degradation and overgrazing and is considered a pest in some areas where it feeds on crops. It can host a number of diseases, including encephalitis and tularemia, for which it is sometimes persecuted. It is hunted for pelts and food in some local areas. <b>Bibliography.</b> Dawaa (1972), Rogovin &amp; Shenbrot (1995), Shar &amp; Lkhagvasuren (2008), Spirodonova, Chelomina, Starikov et al. (2005), Spirodonova, Chelomina, Tsuda et al. (2006), Thorington et al. (2012), Wilber et al. (1998).
description: Published as part of <i>Don E. Wilson, Thomas E. Lacher, Jr &amp; Russell A. Mittermeier, 2016, Sciuridae, pp. 648-837 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 6 Lagomorphs and Rodents I, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions</i> on page 814, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6840226