Urocitellus mollis
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
Urocitellus
Urocitellus mollis

description: 208. Piute Ground Squirrel <i>Urocitellus mollis</i> <b>French:</b> Spermophile a poil doux / <b>German:</b> Piute-Ziesel / <b>Spanish:</b> Ardila terrestre de Piute <b>Taxonomy.</b> Spermophilus mollis Kennicott, 1863, “Camp Floyd, near Fairfield, [Utah Co.], Utah, [USA].” Some authors consider U. townsendi nancyae to be more appropriately affiliated with U. mollis. Three subspecies recognized. <b>Subspecies and Distribution.</b> U.m.mollisKennicott,1863—SEOregon,SIdaho,ECalifornia,Nevada,andUtah(USA). U.m.artemesiaeMerriam,1913—SnakeRiverPlainNofSankeRiverinCIdaho(USA). U. m. idahoensis Merriam, 1913 — NE of Snake River in WC Idaho (USA). <b>Descriptive notes.</b> Head-body 201-233 mm,tail 44-61 mm; weight 107-205 g (males) and 82-164 g (females). The Piute Ground Squirrel is small-sized, with uniform pale smoke gray dorsum, suffused with pinkish buff. Head, cheeks, hips, and hindlimbs are washed with rust. Underside is white to buff. Tail is short, with grizzled hairs on dorsal surface, washed with russet below. Chromosomal complement is 2n = 38 and FN = 66. Subspecies idahoensisis the largest, with slightly dappled dorsum; mollis is intermediate; and artemesiae is the smallest. <b>Habitat.</b> High desert sagebrush (Artemisia, Asteraceae) steppes in well-drained soils, often near springs or irrigated fields. <b>Food and Feeding.</b> The Piute Ground Squirrel is a general list herbivore that eats shoots, leaves, flowers, and seeds of grasses, forbs, and shrubs;it eats agricultural crops where available. Most often,it forages on the ground but will climb shrubs for food. Insects and animal tissue are eaten opportunistically. <b>Breeding.</b> The Piute Ground Squirrel inhabits burrows with a vegetation-lined nest chamber in which young are born. Maternity burrows and hibernation burrows may contain multiple openings and nest chambers, and these burrows may penetrate 1 m belowground. Males emerge from hibernation 2-3 weeks before females in spring; breeding occurs from late January to March just after females emerge. Gestation is c.24 days; single annual litters of 5-10 young are born. Males are reproductively mature after 1-2 years; females can breed as yearlings. During prolonged drought, reproduction will be foregone. <b>Activity patterns.</b> The Piute Ground Squirrel is diurnal and emerges from hibernation in January-February; males initiate hibernation in May and females and young-of-theyear in July. Males typically emerge 14-21 days before females; young are often the last to enter hibernation. It can be a pest around cultivated crops and on some rangelands. <b>Movements, Home range and Social organization.</b> The Piute Ground Squirrel forms colonies, but adults live in separate burrows. Burrow systems can be extensive, with many short escape burrows. Mean home range is 0-14 ha. Alarm calls are short high-pitched squeaks, produced while upright and vigilant or immediately priorto retreat to a burrow. <b>Status and Conservation.</b> Classified as Least Concern on The [UCN Red List. Population trend of the Piute Ground Squirrel is stable, although information is limited. Lack of knowledge about ecology and life history is detrimental to effective conservation and management. Habitat degradation and loss due to conversion to agricultural use is a developing issue. Itis subject to local shooting and poisoning as an agricultural pest. It appears to tolerate modest levels of disturbance and habitat degradation. <b>Bibliography.</b> Holbrook et al. (2015), Mateju &amp; Kratochvil (2013), O'Hare et al. (2006), Rickart (1986), Sharpe &amp; Van Horne (1999), Steenhof et al. (2006), Thorington et al. (2012), Van Vuren &amp; Ordenana (2012).
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 pages 802-803, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6840226