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Hopi chipmunk | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Rodentia |
Family: | Sciuridae |
Genus: | Neotamias |
Species: | N. rufus |
Binomial name | |
Neotamias rufus (Hoffmeister & Ellis, 1979) | |
Synonyms | |
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The Hopi chipmunk, Neotamias rufus, is a small chipmunk found in Colorado, Utah and Arizona in the southwestern United States. [1] It was previously grouped with the Colorado chipmunk, T. quadrivittatus. [1] This species is listed as "Least Concern" on the IUCN Red List as it is common, widespread, and without any major threats. [1] It was last evaluated in 2016.
This species is distinguished by somewhat smaller size and a dorsal pelage that generally lacks significant amounts of black in the stripes, resulting in a more orange red to buff pelage. Measurements are: total length 190–235 mm; [2] length of tail 83–95 mm; length of hindfoot 31–35 mm; length of ear 15–22 mm; weight 52–62 g. Females are slightly larger than males.
Hopi chipmunks prefer rocky areas with pinion and juniper pines and feed mostly on nuts, seeds and fruits. [1] Food gathered is stored in cheek pouches and taken elsewhere for consumption or storage. They nest in rock piles or crevices. This is the common chipmunk of much of the canyon and slickrock piñon-juniper country in western Colorado. Population densities appear to be highest in areas with an abundance of broken rock or rubble at the base of cliff faces or in rock formations with deep fissures and crevices suitable for den sites.
In Colorado, the Hopi chipmunk occurs in the west from the Yampa River south. It ranges eastward along the Colorado River to Eagle County and along the Gunnison to the western end of the Black Canyon.
The diet includes seeds of Indian ricegrass and penstemon are eagerly sought as are seeds of junipers, piñon, oak, skunkbrush, and other shrubs.
Hopi chipmunks are naturally timid, and even individuals born in captivity never become tame. Like Panamint chipmunks, they live in southwestern pinyon-juniper forests and nest in rock crevices or piles of broken rock. They are fast and sure-footed on the sheer rock faces of canyons and buttes. They often climb into shrubs to get seeds, but never eat there: either they take the food to the safety of their den, or perch on a boulder or other lookout where they can eat but at the same time watch for hawks or other predators.
Chipmunks are small, striped rodents of Sciuridae, the squirrel family; specifically, they are ground squirrels (Marmotini). Chipmunks are found in North America, with the exception of the Siberian chipmunk which is found primarily in Asia.
The least chipmunk is the smallest species of chipmunk and the most widespread in North America.
The desert woodrat is a species of pack rat native to desert regions of western North America.
The cliff chipmunk is a small, bushy-tailed squirrel that typically lives along cliff walls or boulder fields bordering Pinyon-juniper woodlands in the Western United States and Mexico. Cliff chipmunks are very agile, and can often be seen scaling steep cliff walls. Cliff chipmunks do not amass body fat as the more common ground squirrel does. They create caches of food which they frequent during the cold winter months.
The alpine chipmunk is a species of chipmunk native to the high elevations of the Sierra Nevada of California.
The white-throated woodrat is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found from central Mexico north to Utah and Colorado in the United States. It is primarily a western species in the United States, extending from central Texas west to southeastern California. Populations east of the Rio Grande in New Mexico and Trans-Pecos Texas, previously considered to be variants of the white-throated woodrat, have since 1988 been assigned to the white-toothed woodrat.
Juniperus monosperma is a species of juniper native to western North America, in the United States in Arizona, New Mexico, southern Colorado, western Oklahoma (Panhandle), and western Texas, and in Mexico in the extreme north of Chihuahua. It grows at 970–2300 m altitude.
The gray-footed chipmunk is a terrestrial and forest-dwelling species of chipmunk and rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is endemic to New Mexico and in the Sierra Diablo and Guadalupe Mountains in the Trans-Pecos region of Texas in the United States. Its natural habitat are coniferous forests. First discovered in 1902, they are distinguished by the unique gray dorsal colouring on the hind feet, hence the common name. They demonstrate sexual dimorphism, and the female is larger than the male.
The gray-collared chipmunk is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is endemic to Arizona and New Mexico in the United States.
Palmer's chipmunk is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae, endemic to Nevada. Its natural habitat is temperate forests. It is threatened by habitat loss. It is named after Theodore Sherman Palmer, an American botanist and zoologist.
The long-eared chipmunk, also called the Sacramento chipmunk or the four-banded chipmunk, is a species of rodent in the squirrel family, Sciuridae. It is endemic to the central and northern Sierra Nevada of California and Nevada in the United States. Long-eared chipmunks have the longest ears of all species of chipmunks.
The Colorado chipmunk is a species of chipmunk in the squirrel family Sciuridae. It is endemic to Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico in the United States.
The red-tailed chipmunk is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is found in Alberta and British Columbia in Canada and Montana, Idaho and Washington in the United States.
Allen's chipmunk, also known as the shadow chipmunk, is a species of chipmunk native to the western United States. Occurring in California, Oregon, and Nevada, it is a common species of the Sierra Nevada.
The Sonoma chipmunk is a species of rodent in the squirrel family Sciuridae. It is endemic to northwestern California in the United States. Members of Neotamias are characterized by having two premolars. N. sonomae has two subspecies: N. s. alleni and N. s. sonomae.
The Uinta chipmunk or hidden forest chipmunk, is a species of chipmunk in the family Sciuridae. It is endemic to the United States. Formerly known as Tamias umbrinus, phylogenetic studies have shown it to be sufficiently distinct from the eastern chipmunk as to be placed in a separate genus, Neotamias. The same studies have also suggested that Palmer's chipmunk may actually be a subspecies of Uinta chipmunk, although the two are still generally regarded as separate species.
The pinyon jay is a species of jay, and is the only member of the genus Gymnorhinus. Native to Western North America, the species ranges from central Oregon to northern Baja California, and eastward as far as western Oklahoma, though wanderers are often sighted beyond this range. It is typically found within foothills, especially where pinyon pines occur.
The Colorado Plateau shrublands is an ecoregion of deserts and xeric shrublands in the Western United States.