Townsend's chipmunk | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Rodentia |
Family: | Sciuridae |
Genus: | Neotamias |
Species: | N. townsendii |
Binomial name | |
Neotamias townsendii (Bachman, 1839) | |
Synonyms | |
Tamias townsendiiBachman, 1839 |
Townsend's chipmunk (Neotamias townsendii) is a species of rodent in the squirrel family, Sciuridae. It lives in the forests of the Pacific Northwest of North America, from extreme southwestern British Columbia through western Washington and western Oregon. Townsend's chipmunk is named after John Kirk Townsend, an early 19th-century ornithologist. [2]
A large chipmunk, adults can be 36 cm (14 in) from nose to the tip of its tail. In much of its range, it is the only chipmunk; it can be identified by its tail which is grayish above and reddish below, and by its brown coloration with indistinct tawny stripes.
Townsend's chipmunk hibernates in regions where the winter is harsh, but in other parts of its range that have a more mild climate it can be active year-round. It is omnivorous, eating a variety of plants and insects and even birds' eggs. [3] Townsend's chipmunks in the Oregon Coast Range have higher population densities in areas with dense shrubbery, especially salal ( Gaultheria shallon ). [4] In the summer and early fall, Townsend's chipmunks eat blackberries, salal berries, and thimble berries. In the late fall, they eat acorns, huckleberries, maple seeds, thistle seeds, grain seeds, grass, roots, and conifer seeds.[ citation needed ]
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.
Gaultheria shallon is an evergreen shrub in the heather family (Ericaceae), native to western North America. In English, it is known as salal, shallon, or gaultheria.
The least chipmunk is the smallest species of chipmunk and the most widespread in North America.
The gray-tailed vole also known as the gray-tailed meadow vole or gray-tailed meadow mouse, is a rodent in the genus Microtus of the family Cricetidae. Voles are small mammals, and this species lies roughly in the middle of their size range. First collected in 1895, it is endemic to the Willamette Valley, Oregon, and Clark County, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Historically, they were found in the prairie areas of the Valley and, though many of these areas have been converted for agricultural purposes, these animals remain common. For reasons that remain unclear, vole population densities in any area may fluctuate widely from season to season and year to year. They are preyed upon by owls, hawks, and carnivorous mammals, and their parasites include fleas and ticks. These voles build burrows and complex tunnel networks, which they sometimes share with other burrowing animals. Relatively little is known about their behavior in the wild, because they are elusive and unlikely to enter traps.
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.
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.
Townsend's ground squirrel is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is found in high desert shrublands in several areas of the United States.
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.
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 Siskiyou chipmunk is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is endemic to northern California and central Oregon in the United States.
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.
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.
There are at least 9 large terrestrial mammals, 50 small mammals, and 14 marine mammal species known to occur in Olympic National Park.