Marmota kastschenkot Stroganov &amp; Yudin 1956
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
Marmota
Marmota kastschenkot

description: 244. Forest Steppe Marmot <i>Marmota kastschenkot</i> <b>French:</b> Marmotte de Kastschenko / <b>German:</b> Waldsteppenmurmeltier / <b>Spanish:</b> Marmota de bosque <b>Taxonomy.</b> Marmota kastschenkoi Stroganov &amp; Udin, 1956 “ Tomskaa obl., okr. g. Tomska, s. Lazgino” (= village Lazgino, vicinity of Tomsk, Tomsk Region, western Siberia, Russia). This species is monotypic. . <b>Distribution.</b> S of Novosibirsk, Kemerovo, and Tomsk in S Siberia (Russia). <b>Descriptive notes.</b> Head-body 495-640 mm, tail 124-200 m; weight 3.6-3 kg (spring) and 4.6-9 kg (autumn). Forest Steppe Marmots have dark brown dorsal pelage. Snout is brown, with patches of buff or tawny near nose and patch of white below chin. Venter is paler than dorsum from tan suffused with yellow to rufous. Chromosomal complement is 2n = 36 and FN-=@s. <b>Habitat.</b> Slopes in open forest steppes and meadows. The Forest Steppe Marmot might be the only forest marmot. It is known to use abandoned buildings and cemeteries. <b>Food and Feeding.</b> The Forest Steppe Marmotis herbivorous and eats primarily young grasses, shoots of forbs, and herbaceous material growing in open forest steppe. It is occasionally a garden nuisance, eating vegetables such as beans and peas, but it is not considered to be a significant pest. <b>Breeding.</b> The Forest Steppe Marmot inhabits burrows in which females produce a single litter of only two young once each summer. Maturation is slow and reproductive maturity may not be achieved until the age ofthree years. <b>Activity patterns.</b> The Forest Steppe Marmot is diurnal and active for 4-5 months each summer; it hibernates in burrows for the remaining 7-8 months each year. Heavy human activity may result in some nocturnal foraging. <b>Movements, Home range and Social organization.</b> The Forest Steppe Marmot is social and lives in multiburrow colonies usually in family groups of dominant male, 2-3 adult females, and 4-8 immature individuals (younger than three years old). Family groups are territorial and defend areas of c.1 ha. Forest Steppe Marmots nest in complex burrow systems with multiple openings that include winter hibernacula. Burrow entrances are often on slopes and are identified by small mounds of soil that serve as promontories. They also use less developed burrows on periphery of a colony for escape. Males disperse as three-year-olds and can travel distances up to 15 km/day; they often settle on periphery of a colony. Individuals frequently sit on burrow mounds and remain vigilant; alarm calls are short highpitched whistles. <b>Status and Conservation.</b> Not yet been assessed on The IUCN Red List. The Forest Steppe Marmot is listed as declining rapidly in the Red Books of Tomsk and Kuzbass, Russia. Hunting for food appears to be a significant threat in some localities because it is declining within its distribution, which is restricted and problematic for conservation. <b>Bibliography.</b> Armitage (2009, 2014), Brandler (2003), Brandler et al. (2008), Galkina et al. (2005), Polyakov (2005), Polyakov &amp; Baranova (2007), Ricankova et al. (2014), Skalon &amp; Gagina (2006), Thorington et al. (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 817-818, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6840226