Merriam's chipmunk

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Merriam's chipmunk
Neotamias merriami.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Sciuridae
Genus: Neotamias
Species:
N. merriami
Binomial name
Neotamias merriami
(J. A. Allen, 1889)
Synonyms

Tamias merriamiJ. A. Allen, 1889

Merriam's chipmunk (Neotamias merriami) is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is found in central and southern California [2] in the United States and a small area in northern Baja California, Mexico. [1]

The dental formula for Tamias merriami is 1.0.2.3.1.0.1.3. × 2 = 22 [3]

Reproduction

When mating, females attract males by calling to them. The duration of the female call is ten to fifteen minutes. A male will hear the call and respond to it by running to and jumping around the female. The female then squats down, and the male performs 12-24 thrusts. The entire process of mating lasts about fifteen seconds. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chipmunk</span> Tribe of mammals (rodent (marmot))

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Least chipmunk</span> Species of rodent

The least chipmunk is the smallest species of chipmunk and the most widespread in North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hopi chipmunk</span> Species of rodent

The Hopi chipmunk, Neotamias rufus, is a small chipmunk found in Colorado, Utah and Arizona in the southwestern United States. It was previously grouped with the Colorado chipmunk, T. quadrivittatus. This species is listed as "Least Concern" on the IUCN Red List as it is common, widespread, and without any major threats. It was last evaluated in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cliff chipmunk</span> Species of rodent

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alpine chipmunk</span> Species of rodent

The alpine chipmunk is a species of chipmunk native to the high elevations of the Sierra Nevada of California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-pine chipmunk</span> Species of rodent

The yellow-pine chipmunk is a species of order Rodentia in the family Sciuridae. It is found in parts of Canada and the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gray-footed chipmunk</span> Species of rodent in the family Sciuridae

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-cheeked chipmunk</span> Species of rodent

The yellow-cheeked chipmunk, also known as the redwood chipmunk, is a species of rodent in the squirrel family, Sciuridae. It is endemic to areas near the coast of northern California in the United States where it inhabits coastal coniferous forest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palmer's chipmunk</span> Species of rodent

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Panamint chipmunk</span> Species of rodent

The Panamint chipmunk is a species of rodent in the squirrel family, Sciuridae. It is endemic to desert mountain areas of southeast California and southwest Nevada in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long-eared chipmunk</span> Species of rodent

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colorado chipmunk</span> Species of rodent

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-tailed chipmunk</span> Species of rodent

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allen's chipmunk</span> Species of rodent

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 Siskiyou chipmunk is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is endemic to northern California and central Oregon in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonoma chipmunk</span> Species of rodent

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lodgepole chipmunk</span> Species of rodent

The Lodgepole chipmunk is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is found in the U.S. state of California at elevations from 1,500 to 3,000 metres. The Lodgepole chipmunk has a variety of common names including: Tahoe chipmunk, Sequoia chipmunk, Mt. Pinos chipmunk, and San Bernardino chipmunk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uinta chipmunk</span> Species of rodent

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.

<i>Neotamias</i> Genus of rodents

Neotamias is a genus of chipmunks within the tribe Marmotini of the squirrel family. It contains 23 species, which mostly occur in western North America. Along with Eutamias, this genus is often considered a subgenus of Tamias.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ezo chipmunk</span> Subspecies of mammal

The Ezo chipmunk is a subspecies or local population of the Siberian chipmunk; it is found in what was once known as Ezo, namely Hokkaidō, Japan, and Sakhalin and the Southern Kuriles, Russia.

References

  1. 1 2 Álvarez-Castañeda, S.T.; Castro-Arellano, I.; Lacher, T. (2016). "Neotamias merriami". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T21358A22269203. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T21358A22269203.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. "California Mammal Maps - Merriam's Chipmunk (Tamias merriami)". Archived from the original on 2010-12-16. Retrieved 2010-08-26.
  3. Best, Troy L.; Granai, Nancy J. (1994-12-02). "Tamias merriami". Mammalian Species (476): 1–9. doi:10.2307/3504203. ISSN   0076-3519. JSTOR   3504203.
  4. Compton, Stephen B (January 1995). ""REPRODUCTIVE BEHAVIOR IN MERRIAM'S CHIPMUNK (TAMIAS MERRIAMI)."". The Great Basin Naturalist. 55 (1).