Cliff chipmunk
Cliff chipmunk | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Conservation status | |
![]() Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1] | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Rodentia |
Family: | Sciuridae |
Genus: | Neotamias |
Species: | N. dorsalis |
Binomial name | |
Neotamias dorsalis (Baird, 1855) | |
![]() | |
Distribution of the cliff chipmunk | |
Synonyms | |
Tamias dorsalis Baird, 1855 |
The cliff chipmunk (Neotamias dorsalis) 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 (commonly spotted in northern Arizona to Colorado). 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.
Description
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/66/Cliff_Chipmunk_-_Flickr_-_treegrow.jpg/220px-Cliff_Chipmunk_-_Flickr_-_treegrow.jpg)
The chipmunks' size varies from 8 to 10 inches (20 to 25 cm), and they weigh an average of 2.5 oz (70 g). These small creatures live to a staggering 12+1⁄2 years. The chipmunks are brown on their underside and gray on the back, with white stripes on their face.
Habitat
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/2015-04-28_13_28_28_An_older_Single-leaf_Pinyon_and_accompanying_Utah_Juniper_on_the_south_wall_of_Maverick_Canyon%2C_Nevada.jpg/189px-2015-04-28_13_28_28_An_older_Single-leaf_Pinyon_and_accompanying_Utah_Juniper_on_the_south_wall_of_Maverick_Canyon%2C_Nevada.jpg)
The cliff chipmunk nests near cliffs in pinyon-juniper woodlands hence its name "cliff chipmunk". They are found at higher altitudes such as 5,000–12,000 ft (1,500–3,700 m) above sea level. A common destination for spotting the cliff chipmunk is the cliffs of the Grand Canyon. The cliff chipmunk is active mostly during the day, therefore easy to spot. The chipmunk's diet consists of juniper berries, pine seeds, and acorns.
Media related to Tamias dorsalis at Wikimedia Commons
See also
References
- ^ Lacher, T.; Álvarez-Castañeda, S.T. & Timm, R. (2017) [errata version of 2016 assessment]. "Neotamias dorsalis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T42571A115190634. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T42571A22267136.en. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
External links
- v
- t
- e
(antelope squirrels)
- Harris's antelope squirrel (A. harrisii)
- Espíritu Santo antelope squirrel (A. insularis)
- Texas antelope squirrel (A. interpres)
- White-tailed antelope squirrel (A. leucurus)
- San Joaquin antelope squirrel (A. nelsoni)
(golden-mantled ground squirrels)
- Golden-mantled ground squirrel (C. lateralis)
- Sierra Madre ground squirrel (C. madrensis)
- Cascade golden-mantled ground squirrel (C. saturatus)
(prairie dogs)
- Gunnison's prairie dog (C. gunnisoni)
- White-tailed prairie dog (C. leucurus)
- Black-tailed prairie dog (C. ludovicianus)
- Mexican prairie dog (C. mexicanus)
- Utah prairie dog (C. parvidens)
- Siberian chipmunk (E. sibiricus)
(little ground squirrels)
- Mexican ground squirrel (I. mexicanus)
- Rio Grande ground squirrel (I. parvidens)
- Thirteen-lined ground squirrel (I. tridecemlineatus)
(marmots)
- Bobak marmot (M. bobak)
- Alaska marmot (M. broweri)
- Black-capped marmot (M. camtschatica)
- Long-tailed marmot (M. caudata)
- Himalayan marmot (M. himalayana)
- Alpine marmot (M. marmota)
- Menzbier's marmot (M. menzbieri)
- Groundhog or woodchuck (M. monax)
- Tarbagan marmot (M. sibirica)
Subgenus Petromarmota: Hoary marmot (M. caligata) - Yellow-bellied marmot (M. flaviventris)
- Olympic marmot (M. olympus)
- Vancouver Island marmot (M. vancouverensis)
(western chipmunks)
- Tropical ground squirrel (N. adocetus)
- Ring-tailed ground squirrel (N. annulatus)
(rock squirrels)
- Baja California rock squirrel (O. atricapillus)
- California ground squirrel (O. beecheyi)
- Rock squirrel (O. variegatus)
- Franklin's ground squirrel (P. franklinii)
(Asian rock squirrels)
- Père David's rock squirrel (S. davidianus)
- Forrest's rock squirrel (S. forresti)
(Old World ground squirrels)
- Alashan ground squirrel (S. alashanicus)
- Brandt’s ground squirrel (S. brevicauda)
- European ground squirrel (S. citellus)
- Daurian ground squirrel (S. dauricus)
- Red-cheeked ground squirrel (S. erythrogenys)
- Yellow ground squirrel (S. fulvus)
- Russet ground squirrel (S. major)
- Caucasian mountain ground squirrel (S. musicus)
- Tian Shan ground squirrel (S. nilkaensis)
- Pallid ground squirrel (S. pallidicauda)
- Little ground squirrel (S. pygmaeus)
- Relict ground squirrel (S. relictus)
- Speckled ground squirrel (Spermophilus suslicus)
- Taurus ground squirrel (Spermophilus taurensis)
- Asia Minor ground squirrel (Spermophilus xanthoprymnus)
- Eastern chipmunk (T. striatus)
(Holarctic ground squirrels)
- Uinta ground squirrel (U. armatus)
- Belding's ground squirrel (U. beldingi)
- Northern Idaho ground squirrel (U. brunneus)
- Merriam's ground squirrel (U. canus)
- Columbian ground squirrel (U. columbianus)
- Wyoming ground squirrel (U. elegans)
- Southern Idaho ground squirrel (U. endemicus)
- Piute ground squirrel (U. mollis)
- Arctic ground squirrel (U. parryii)
- Richardson's ground squirrel (U. richardsonii)
- Townsend's ground squirrel (U. townsendii)
- Long-tailed ground squirrel (U. undulatus)
- Washington ground squirrel (U. washingtoni)
(pygmy ground squirrels)
- Mohave ground squirrel (X. mohavensis)
- Perote ground squirrel (X. perotensis)
- Spotted ground squirrel (X. spilosoma)
- Round-tailed ground squirrel (X. tereticaudus)