Asian ground squirrel
| Asian ground squirrel | ||||||||||||
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Asian ground squirrel ( Spermophilus xanthoprymnus ) |
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| Spermophilus xanthoprymnus | ||||||||||||
| ( Bennett , 1835) |
The (Austrian: The) Asia Minor Ground Squirrel ( Spermophilus xanthoprymnus ) is a ground-dwelling rodent from the family of the squirrels (Sciuridae) that mostly inhabits steppe areas and grasslands and is about the size of a rat . Its main distribution area is in Turkey and extends to Armenia and Iran . The habitat consists mainly of open steppes with low vegetation.
There is no reliable information on the size of the population or the development of the population, but it is estimated that the population has declined by 20 to 25 percent in recent years, mainly due to the conversion of habitats into agricultural areas. Because of this decline, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) classifies the species in the warning list ("near threatened").
features
general characteristics
The Asian ground squirrel is a medium-sized species of ground squirrel with a rounded body, short legs and a short, rounded tail. The size varies both regionally and gender-specifically, with the males usually being slightly larger and heavier than the females. The total length of the adult animals in the region around Erzurum in northeastern Turkey is 26.5 to 28.9 centimeters for males, an average of 27.3 centimeters, and for females 23.1 to 26.0 centimeters, an average of 25.5 Centimeter. In the region around Aksaray in central Turkey, on the other hand, the total length of the males is only 24.8 to 28.1, an average of 26 centimeters, and that of the females 24.5 to 27.5 centimeters and thus, as in Erzurum, an average of 25.5 centimeters . The weight of the males ranges from 235 to 490 grams and that of the females from 170 to 410 grams. The tail is about 4.2 to 5.6 inches long, the hind foot 3.8 to 4.5 inches and the ear 0.8 to 1.2 inches.
In profile, the head is convex (arched outwards) with large eyes and small ears. The back color is uniformly red-brown, although it can vary from grayish to dark brown. There are no stains. The eyes are surrounded by white rings, and both the throat and chin are usually white. The abdomen and legs are light yellowish to whitish in color. The tail is also usually the same color as the abdomen.
In addition to the Asian ground squirrel, the European ground squirrel ( Spermophilus citellus ) and the Spermophilus taurensis, which was only described in 2007 and was formerly assigned to the Asian ground squirrel, can also be found in Turkey, although the European ground squirrel is restricted to the European part of Turkey west of the Bosporus . Spermophilus taurensis , on the other hand, occurs in the eastern parts of the Taurus Mountains , with its range only overlapping in the northern part with that of the Asia Minor ground squirrel, where both species occur parapatric . The Asian ground squirrel differs from both species in that it has a shorter tail and features of the skull. A reliable demarcation of the species is only possible through comparative skull measurements or genetic tests.
Skull and skeletal features
The skull has a total length of 39 to 47 millimeters for the males and 38 to 45 millimeters for the females. In the area of the zygomatic arches it reaches a width of 28 to 33 millimeters. The lower jaw is 27 to 33 millimeters in length, with the dentate area about 8 to 10 millimeters long.
| 1 | · | 0 | · | 2 | · | 3 | = 22 |
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The species has a cutting tooth (incisor), no canine (canine), two Vorbackenzähne (Praemolares) and three molars (molar) in a top half of the jaw while the lower jaw only a Vorbackenzahn in each half is present. The animals have a total of 22 teeth.
distribution
The Asian ground squirrel is particularly common in the Asian part of Turkey . From here the distribution area extends to Armenia and the far north of Iran . The altitude distribution is between 800 and 2700 meters.
Way of life
The Asia Minor ground squirrel lives mainly in the open steppe with low vegetation, but is also found on stony mountain slopes and in field edge areas. The animals hibernate between the end of August and mid-February, and hibernation can last between 21 and 100 days. In a three-year study from 1999 to 2001 near Ankara it was observed that the males finish their wintering in March before the females, with the females and the young of the previous year having the minimum body weight per year at this point; the males, on the other hand, were significantly heavier than the females (139–205%) and only showed the minimum weight at the end of the mating season.
The mating season begins after wintering in February, the young are born from April to July, with a female only having one litter per year. Mating in the field study started right after the females appeared and the pups were born in April. The litter consists of one to six young animals. The young animals could be observed outside their burrows for the first time in mid to late May and were then fully active. The young animals become sexually mature after the first overwintering and mate accordingly in the first year after their birth.
Systematics
The Asian ground squirrel is classified as an independent species within the genus of the ground squirrel ( Spermophilus ), which consists of eight species. The first scientific description comes from Edward Turner Bennett from 1835, who described the species as Citillus xanthoprymna using a type specimen from Erzurum in eastern Turkey and thus classified it in the genus Citellus Oken , which is no longer valid today , in 1816. In 1845, the Swiss natural scientist Heinrich Rudolf Schinz assigned the species to the genus Spermophilus , Cuvier 1825, in his book Systematic Directory of all mammals known to date or Synopsis Mammalium, to which it still belongs to this day.
The name of the genus Spermophilus means "seed-loving" and is derived from the Greek words spermatos for "seed" and philos for "loving". The species name xanthoprymnus means "yellowish underside" and is accordingly descriptive. It comes from the Greek names xanthos for various shades of yellow and prymnos for the underside.
Threat and protection
Spermophilus xanthoprymnus is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) as a type of warning list ("near threatened"). The populations have declined significantly in recent years, primarily due to the change in habitat and the conversion of steppe areas into agricultural areas; according to estimates, a decline of 20 to 25 percent of the population size is assumed in the last ten years, especially in Asia Minor . In agricultural areas, the ground squirrel is perceived and controlled as a pest, but the decline justifies regional classification as an endangered species.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i Mutlu Kart Gür, Hakan Gür: Spermophilus xanthoprymnus (Rodentia: Sciuridae) . In: Mammalian Species . 42, Issue 892, 2010, p. 183-194 , doi : 10.1644 / 864.1 .
- ↑ İslam Gündüz, Maarit Jaarola, Coskun Tez, Can Yeniyurt, P. David Polly, Jeremy B. Searle: Multigenic and morphometric differentiation of ground squirrels (Spermophilus, Sciuridae, Rodentia) in Turkey, with a description of a new species. In: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution . 43 (3), date = 2007, p. 916-935 , doi : 10.1016 / j.ympev.2007.02.021 .
- ↑ a b c d e f Spermophilus xanthoprymnus in the Red List of Endangered Species of the IUCN 2013.1. Posted by: B. Kryštufek, N. Yigit, R. Hutterer, 2008. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
- ↑ a b c Hakan Gür, Mutlu Kart Gür: Annual cycle of activity, reproduction, and body mass of Anatolian ground squirrels (Spermophilus xanthoprymnus) in Turkey . In: Journal of Mammalogy . tape 86 , 2005, pp. 7-14 , doi : 10.1644 / 1545-1542 (2005) 086 <0007: ACOARA> 2.0.CO; 2 .
- ^ A b Bennett: Spermophilus (Spermophilus) xanthoprymnus . In: Don E. Wilson & DeeAnn M. Reeder (Eds.): Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference . 3. Edition. 1835 ( Online Archive [accessed September 16, 2019]).
literature
- Mutlu Kart Gür, Hakan Gür: Spermophilus xanthoprymnus (Rodentia: Sciuridae) . In: Mammalian Species . 42, Issue 892, 2010, p. 183–194 ( online [accessed June 1, 2016]).
Web links
- Spermophilus xanthoprymnus inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013.1. Posted by: B. Kryštufek, N. Yigit, R. Hutterer, 2008. Retrieved October 15, 2013.