White-tailed antelope pebble

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White-tailed antelope pebble
White-tailed antelope pebble

White-tailed antelope pebble

Systematics
Subordination : Squirrel relatives (Sciuromorpha)
Family : Squirrel (Sciuridae)
Subfamily : Ground Squirrel (Xerinae)
Tribe : Real ground squirrels (Marmotini)
Genre : Antelope pebble ( Ammospermophilus )
Type : White-tailed antelope pebble
Scientific name
Ammospermophilus leucurus
( Clinton Hart Merriam , 1889)

The white-tailed antelope pies ( Ammospermophilus leucurus ) belong to the genus of the antelope pies . It occurs in parts of the western United States as well as Mexico (Baja California).

features

White-tailed antelope peas are 18 to 23 cm in length and weigh 100 to 140 g. The species is brown in color and has a white tail. They live in deserts, semi-deserts and on sandy plains with little grass cover, where they can dig well to avoid the heat and predators (including foxes, lynxes, birds of prey, rattlesnakes).

distribution

Distribution area of ​​the white-tailed antelope pebble

The animals are found in the United States from southern Oregon and eastern California to Colorado , Utah , Nevada , New Mexico and Arizona, as well as on the Mexican peninsula Baja California .

Way of life

Ground squirrels eat seeds, fruits and roots and possibly also insects. The food is stowed in the cheek pouches.

Systematics

The white-tailed antelope pebble is classified as an independent species within the genus of the antelope pebble ( Ammospermophilus ), which consists of five species. The first scientific description as Spermophilus harrisii comes from Clinton Hart Merriam from 1889 on the basis of individuals from San Gorgonio Pass , Riverside County , California. He described the species as Tamias leucurus to differentiate it from the Harris antelope ceasel ( Ammospermophilus harrisii , then Tamias harrisii ) and assigned it to the chipmunk (genus Tamias ). He was already using the name antelope squirrel and questioned the assignment to Tamias . In 1907 the species was transferred by Edgar Alexander Mearns to the genus Ammospermophilus established by Clinton Hart Merriam in 1862 .

Within the species, nine subspecies are distinguished with the nominate form :

  • Ammospermophilus leucurus leucurus : nominate form
  • Ammospermophilus leucurus canfieldiae
  • Ammospermophilus leucurus cinamomeus
  • Ammospermophilus leucurus escalante
  • Ammospermophilus leucurus extimus
  • Ammospermophilus leucurus notom
  • Ammospermophilus leucurus peninsulae
  • Ammospermophilus leucurus pennipes
  • Ammospermophilus leucurus tersus

Status, threat and protection

The white-tailed antelope pebble is classified as least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). This is justified by the comparably large distribution area, the assumed large population numbers and the relatively small decline in populations . Stand density in the United States is low, ranging from 0.06 per acre in the spring to 0.35 per acre in the fall, with the population fluctuating greatly from year to year. There are no known threats to the existence of the species, but they are threatened by feral domestic cats on some islands in the Gulf of California .

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b c d Ammospermophilus leucurus in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015.4. Posted by: Linzey, AV, Timm, R., Álvarez-Castañeda, ST, Castro-Arellano, I. & Lacher, T., 2008. Accessed June 22, 2016.
  2. ↑ a b Ammospermophilus leucurus 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 .
  3. ↑ a b 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. 253-254 .
  4. ↑ a b Mark C. Belk, H. Duane Smith: Ammospermophilus leucurus . In: Mammalian Species . tape 368 , 1991, pp. 1–8 ( full text (PDF)).
  5. ↑ Clinton Hart Merriam : Description of a new species of ground squirrel from the arid lands of the southwest. North American Fauna 2, 1889; Pp. 19-21. ( Full text )

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. 253-254 .
  • Mark C. Belk, H. Duane Smith: Ammospermophilus leucurus . In: Mammalian Species . tape 368 , 1991, pp. 1–8 ( full text (PDF)).

Web links

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