Xerinae

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Xerinae
Borstenhornchen 060319 2.jpg
South African ground squirrel (Xerus inauris)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Sciuridae
Subfamily: Xerinae
Osborn, 1910
Tribes and genera

Xerini

Atlantoxerus
Euxerus
Geosciurus
Spermophilopsis
Xerus

Protoxerini

Epixerus
Funisciurus
Heliosciurus
Myosciurus
Paraxerus
Protoxerus

Marmotini

Ammospermophilus
Callospermophilus
Cynomys
Eutamias
Ictidomys
Marmota
Neotamias
Notocitellus
Otospermophilus
Poliocitellus
Sciurotamias
Spermophilus
Tamias
Urocitellus
Xerospermophilus

The Xerinae comprise a subfamily of squirrels, many of which are highly terrestrial. It includes the tribes Marmotini (marmots, chipmunks, prairie dogs, and other Holarctic ground squirrels), Xerini (African and some Eurasian ground squirrels), and Protoxerini (African tree squirrels). [1]

The Xerinae first originated in Eurasia but later dispersed to other parts of the world. One of which was Africa, where they traveled via land bridges in the Miocene period, leading to the emergence of Protoxerini and Xerini ground squirrel tribes. Many Xerinae also dispersed to North America during the early Oligocene era, and with the help of global cooling and the expansion of grasslands, resulted in the emergence of the Marmotini ground squirrel tribe. [2]

Taxonomy

Tribe Xerini six species of ground squirrels in five genera, occurring in Africa and Asia.

Atlantoxerus
Euxerus
Geosciurus
Spermophilopsis
Xerus

Tribe Protoxerini thirty species of tree squirrels in six genera, occurring in Africa.

Epixerus
Funisciurus
Heliosciurus
Myosciurus
Paraxerus
Protoxerus

Tribe Marmotini ground squirrels in fifteen genera, occurring world wide. Includes the prairie dogs, the marmots (including woodchuck), and chipmunks.

Ammospermophilus
Callospermophilus
Cynomys
Eutamias
Ictidomys
Marmota
Neotamias
Notocitellus
Otospermophilus
Poliocitellus
Sciurotamias
Spermophilus
Tamias
Urocitellus
Xerospermophilus

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">Prairie dog</span> Genus of ground squirrels

Prairie dogs are herbivorous burrowing ground squirrels native to the grasslands of North America. There are five recognized species of prairie dog: black-tailed, white-tailed, Gunnison's, Utah, and Mexican prairie dogs. In Mexico, prairie dogs are found primarily in the northern states, which lie at the southern end of the Great Plains: northeastern Sonora, north and northeastern Chihuahua, northern Coahuila, northern Nuevo León, and northern Tamaulipas. In the United States, they range primarily to the west of the Mississippi River, though they have also been introduced in a few eastern locales. They are also found in the Canadian Prairies. Despite the name, they are not actually canines; prairie dogs, along with the marmots, chipmunks, and several other basal genera belong to the ground squirrels, part of the larger squirrel family (Sciuridae).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Squirrel</span> Family of rodents

Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-sized rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, and flying squirrels. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa, and were introduced by humans to Australia. The earliest known fossilized squirrels date from the Eocene epoch, and among other living rodent families, the squirrels are most closely related to the mountain beaver and dormice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marmot</span> Genus of mammals (large ground squirrels)

Marmots are large ground squirrels in the genus Marmota, with 15 species living in Asia, Europe, and North America. These herbivores are active during the summer, when they can often be found in groups, but are not seen during the winter, when they hibernate underground. They are the heaviest members of the squirrel family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ground squirrel</span> Type of ground-dwelling rodent

Ground squirrels are rodents of the squirrel family (Sciuridae) that generally live on the ground or in burrows, rather than in trees like the tree squirrels. The term is most often used for the medium-sized ground squirrels, as the larger ones are more commonly known as marmots or prairie dogs, while the smaller and less bushy-tailed ground squirrels tend to be known as chipmunks.

<i>Spermophilus</i> Genus of rodents

Spermophilus is a genus of ground squirrels in the squirrel family. As traditionally defined the genus was very species-rich, ranging through Europe, Asia and North America, but this arrangement was found to be paraphyletic to the certainly distinct prairie dogs, marmots, and antelope squirrels. As a consequence, all the former Spermophilus species of North America have been moved to other genera, leaving the European and Asian species as true Spermophilus.

<i>Eutamias</i> Genus of rodents

Eutamias is a genus of chipmunks within the tribe Marmotini of the squirrel family. It includes a single living species, the Siberian chipmunk. The genus is often treated as a subgenus of Tamias, which is now restricted to the eastern chipmunk of North America. Neotamias, which now includes the western North American chipmunks, has also been included in Eutamias.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sciuromorpha</span> Suborder of mammals

Sciuromorpha ( 'squirrel-like') is a rodent clade that includes several rodent families. It includes all members of the Sciuridae as well as the mountain beaver species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xerini</span> Tribe of rodents

Xerini is a tribe of ground squirrels occurring in Africa and Asia. With the tribes Marmotini and Protoxerini, they form the subfamily Xerinae. There are five living genera—Xerus, the unstriped ground squirrel; Euxerus, the striped ground squirrel; Geosciurus, the Cape and mountain ground squirrels; Atlantoxerus, containing the living Barbary ground squirrel of North Africa and some extinct species; and Spermophilopsis, containing the long-clawed ground squirrel of Central Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sun squirrel</span> Genus of rodents

Sun squirrels, form a taxon of squirrels under the subfamily Xerinae and the tribe Protoxerini. They are only found in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Espíritu Santo antelope squirrel is a species of antelope squirrel in the family Sciuridae. It is endemic to Mexico, where it is known only from the island of Espíritu Santo in the Gulf of California. The species was originally described by Edward William Nelson and Edward Alphonso Goldman in 1909 as a subspecies of the white-tailed antelope squirrel, a wide-ranging species in the southwestern U.S. and Mexico. In 1938, Arthur H. Howell elevated the subspecies to full species status, on the basis of slightly larger skull proportions and the absence or reduction of the third upper premolar. Studies of DNA and chromosomes have variously suggested close relationships with Harris's antelope squirrels or other subspecies of white-tailed antelope squirrel. A 2007 comparison of DNA and morphological traits suggested the differences between Espíritu Santo squirrels and those on the Baja California peninsula and other islands were not enough to warrant distinct species but rather a subspecies of white-tailed antelope squirrels. Since 2008 the IUCN has similarly recognized the Espíritu Santo antelope squirrel as a subspecies of white-tailed antelope squirrel.

The long-clawed ground squirrel is a squirrel species native to grasslands and deserts in northeastern Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, northwestern Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. It is the only member of the tribe Xerini not native to Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unstriped ground squirrel</span> Species of rodent

The unstriped ground squirrel is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is the only member of the genus Xerus. It is found in Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Its natural habitats are dry savanna and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protoxerini</span> Tribe of rodents

The Protoxerini comprise a tribe of squirrels found in Africa. The 30 species in six genera are:

<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.

<i>Otospermophilus</i> Genus of rodents

Otospermophilus is a genus of ground squirrels in the family Sciuridae, containing three species from Mexico and the United States. Otospermophilus was formerly placed in the large ground squirrel genus Spermophilus, as a subgenus or species group. Since DNA sequencing of the cytochrome b gene has shown Spermophilus to be paraphyletic to the prairie dogs and marmots, it is now separated, along with six other genera.

<i>Xerospermophilus</i> Genus of rodents

Pygmy ground squirrels are small ground squirrels in the genus Xerospermophilus, family Sciuridae, containing four species from Mexico and the United States. The members of this genus were formerly placed in the large ground squirrel genus Spermophilus. Since DNA sequencing of the cytochrome b gene showed that Spermophilus was paraphyletic to the prairie dogs and marmots, this group is now separated, along with six other genera. Within the genus, the Mohave ground squirrel and the round-tailed ground squirrel were thought to be close relatives, sometimes a subgenus Xerospermophilus, while the spotted ground squirrel and the Perote ground squirrel were formerly placed in the subgenus Ictidomys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rio Grande ground squirrel</span> Species of rodent

The Rio Grande ground squirrel is a species of squirrel in the family Sciuridae. It is found in the south-western United States and in north-eastern Mexico.

References

  1. Thorington, R. W. and R. S. Hoffmann (2005). "Family Sciuridae". pp. 754–818 in Wilson, E. D. and Reeder, D. M. (eds.), Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference , Vol. 2. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
  2. Ge, D. Y., Liu, X., Lv, X. F., Zhang, Z. Q., Xia, L., & Yang, Q. S. (2014). Historical Biogeography and Body Form Evolution of Ground Squirrels (Sciuridae: Xerinae). Evolutionary Biology, 41(1), 99–114. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11692-013-9250-7