Uinta chipmunk

Uinta chipmunk
	Uinta chipmunk in Zion National Park
Systematics
Subordination :	Squirrel relatives (Sciuromorpha)
Family :	Squirrel (Sciuridae)
Subfamily :	Ground Squirrel (Xerinae)
Tribe :	Real ground squirrels (Marmotini)
Genre :	Chipmunk ( Tamias )
Type :	Uinta chipmunk
Scientific name
	Tamias umbrinus
	JA Allen , 1890

The Uinta chipmunk ( Tamias umbrinus , syn .: Neotamias umbrinus ) is a type of squirrel from the genus of the chipmunk ( Tamias ). It occurs in several American states from California to Wyoming and Colorado .

features

The Uinta chipmunk reaches an average head-torso length of about 12.0 to 12.5 centimeters, the tail length is about 8.9 to 11.9 centimeters and the weight is about 51 to 74 grams. The back color is brown and, as with other species of the genus, there are several dark back stripes on the back, which are separated by white stripes and delimited from the sides of the body. There are also two white stripes on the face, with a brown to cinnamon-brown stripe in between over the eye. The sides of the body are cinnamon brown to yellowish orange or light brown. The top of the head is greyish and behind the ears there is a white to creamy white postauricular spot on the nape of the neck. The ventral side is white to creamy white. The tail is orange to red-brown on the underside and grayish on top.

distribution

Distribution areas of the Uinta chipmunk

The Uinta chipmunk occurs in the United States from east-central California through parts of Nevada and the extreme southwest of Montana to northwest and southeast Wyoming , eastern Idaho and northern Colorado, and the extreme north of Arizona .

Way of life

Uinta chipmunks live mainly in coniferous forest areas, i. H. in mixed pine, spruce and fir forests. In regions where other chipmunks are also found, the Uinta croissants live in the higher mountains.

The Uinta chipmunk is diurnal and can be observed especially in the middle of the day. It lives both on the ground and often climbing in the trees. The animals feed mainly herbivores of the conifer seeds of it in the cheek pouches collect. There are also other parts of plants, mushrooms, insects, bird eggs and small vertebrates. The animals set up stores for the winter. They usually do not hibernate and can be active all year round, but individual individuals stay in the nest in bad weather and can also take a short hibernation. The animals build their nests underground between and under stones, in tree hollows and in older nests of other animals in the branches of the trees. The animals are territorial and they defend their territories aggressively against conspecifics and other chipmunks. The communication takes place primarily to delimit the territories and as high-frequency alarm calls.

The mating season for this species is in spring. In the largest part of the distribution area the species occurs sympatric with other chipmunks. The survival rate of the animals is sometimes very low in winter and local populations are also temporarily extinct. Due to the size of the animals, various birds of prey, martens, cats and dogs can be used as predators ; when threatened, the Uinta chipmunks hide in the vegetation.

Systematics

The Uinta chipmunk is classified as a separate species within the genus of chipmunks ( Tamias ), which consists of 25 species. The first scientific description comes from the American zoologist Joel Asaph Allen from 1890, who described it using individuals from the Uinta Mountains in Summit County in Utah. Within the chipmunk group, the Uinta chipmunk, along with most of the other species, is assigned to the subgenus Neotamias , which is also discussed as an independent genus.

Within the species, seven subspecies are distinguished together with the nominate form :

Tamias umbrinus umbrinus : nominate form; occurs in northern Utah and southwest Wyoming.
Tamias umbrinus adsitus : Lives in southwest Utah and northern Arizona; the sides of the body are somewhat darker and the trunk is less brown than in the nominate form.
Tamias umbrinus Fremdonti : In northwest Wyoming; the sides of the body are yellowish and the postauricular spots are grayish white.
Tamias umbrinus inyoensis : In eastern California, Nevada and western Utah; it is a relatively dark shape.
Tamias umbrinus montanus : Mainly in Colorado with a spotty distribution; the sides of the body are gray and the feet cinnamon-brown sand-colored on top.
Tamias umbrinus nevadensis : endemic to the Sheep Mountains in southern Nevada; the subspecies has a relatively gray upper body.
Tamias umbrinus sedulus : Endemic to the Henry Mountains of southeastern Utah; the back color is reddish brown, the sides of the body are yellowish and the underside of the tail is ocher orange.

The Palmer chipmunk ( Tamias palmeri ) , which lives in isolation in the Spring Mountains of Nevada , is often classified as a subspecies of the Uinta chipmunk, but it is usually considered a separate species.

Status, threat and protection

The Uinta chipmunk is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) as "Least Concern" (LC). This is justified by the relatively large, but fragmented distribution area and the regular occurrence; there are no known risks to the existence of the species. The subspecies Tamias umbrinus nevadensis was last sighted in 1960 in the Hidden Forest in the Sheep Mountains in Nevada and was not rediscovered despite four intensive searches.

supporting documents

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Richard W. Thorington Jr. , John L. Koprowski, Michael A. Steele: Squirrels of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2012, ISBN 978-1-4214-0469-1 , pp. 347-348 .

↑ ^a ^b Neotamias umbrinus in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015.4. Submitted by: AV Linzey, NatureServe (G. Hammerson), 2008. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
↑ ^a ^b Tamias (Neotamias) umbrinus In: Don E. Wilson , DeeAnn M. Reeder (Ed.): Mammal Species of the World. A taxonomic and geographic Reference. 2 volumes. 3. Edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 .
↑ Joel Asaph Allen : A review of some of the North American ground squirrels of the genus Tamias. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 3, 1890; Pp. 45-116. ( Full text , description of the species on pp. 96–97)
^ ^A ^b Janet K. Brown, Aubrey A. Johnson, Michael A. Mares: Tamias umbrinus. ( Memento of the original from March 15, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2 archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Mammalian Species 43 (899), 2011.
↑ Bruce D. Patterson, Ryan W. Norris: Towards a uniform nomenclature for ground squirrels: the status of the Holarctic chipmunks. Mammalia 80 (3), May 2016; Pp. 241-251 doi : 10.1515 / mammalia-2015-0004
↑ Hafner, DJ, Yensen, E. and Kirkland, Jr., GL (compilers and editors): North American Rodents: Status Survey and Conservation Action plan. IUCN / SSC Rodent Specialist Group. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK, 1998. p. 57

literature

Richard W. Thorington Jr. , John L. Koprowski, Michael A. Steele: Squirrels of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2012, ISBN 978-1-4214-0469-1 , pp. 347-348 .
Janet K. Brown, Aubrey A. Johnson, Michael A. Mares: Tamias umbrinus. Mammalian Species 43 (899), 2011.

Web links

Commons : Uinta Chipmunk ( Tamias umbrinus ) - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Neotamias umbrinus inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015.4. Submitted by: AV Linzey, NatureServe (G. Hammerson), 2008. Retrieved July 2, 2016.

[Thorington_et_al._2012-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Richard W. Thorington Jr. , John L. Koprowski, Michael A. Steele: Squirrels of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2012, ISBN 978-1-4214-0469-1 , pp. 347-348 .