SQUIRREL FAMILY 



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THIRTEEN-STRIPED GROUND SQUIRREL 



Citellus tridecemlineatus (Mitchill) 



Other Names. — Striped Gopher, Striped Prairie 

 Squirrel, Spermophile. 



General Description. — A small animal with body 

 rather slender for a Ground Squirrel but more robust 

 proportionally than the Chipmunk. Head rounded ; 

 ears low, rounded, inconspicuous ; tail somewhat bushy 

 but flat, and about one-half length of head and body; 

 legs short; fur short and rather glossy, the hairs being 

 somewhat hard and shining ; color pattern unique, con- 

 sisting of 13 stripes along the back; underparts pale 

 tawny brown ; eyes black. 



Dental Formula. — Same as foregoing. 



Pelage. — Adults : Sexes identical and no seasonal 

 variation in the color pattern. Above, back lined with 

 13 longitudinal stripes from ears to tail as follows; 

 7 long stripes of dull yellowish-white, alternating with 

 6 more or less broken rows of spots similar in color 

 to stripes ; stripes broken up on crown and haunches ; 

 rest of upper parts dark brown ; belly dull buffy or 

 tawny, nearly white on chin ; tail yellowish-brown or 

 sienna, fringed with black hairs yellowish tipped. 

 Young: Striped like adults but color paler. 



Measurements. — Total length, 11 inches; tail verte- 

 brae, 3.5 inches; hind foot, 1.4 inches. 



Range. — Central North America from eastern Mich- 

 igan to Montana, Colorado, central Texas, north to 

 Saskatchewan Plains, and in prairie region of Missis- 

 sippi from Ohio to Minnesota. 



Food. — Seeds, grasses and also flesh. 



Rei..\ted Stecies 



Thirteen-striped Ground Squirrel. — Citellus tri- 

 decemlineatus tridecemlineatus (Mitchill). The typical 

 animal of the above description. Central North Amer- 

 ica in the Prairie region. 



Pallid Thirteen-striped Ground Squirrel. — Citellus 

 tridecemlineatus ['allidus (.Allen). Size small, colors 

 paler, light stripes white and wide. Wyoming, south to 

 Texas and east to Missouri on the plains and desert 

 regions. 



Little Thirteen-striped Ground Squirrel. — Citellus 

 tridecemlineatus parvus (.\llen). Smaller than the 

 typical form. Utah and Wyoming. 



This small Grotmd Squirrel, because of the 

 peculiar striping on the back, is at once distin- 

 guishable from any of the other Spermophiles. 

 It is a prairie animal living on the grassy plains 

 and not found in the heavily wooded regions. 

 There are seven subspecies of the Thirteen- 

 striped Ground Sqtiirrel, all having the same 

 essential pattern on the back and differing only 

 in cranial characters or intensity of color. Ver- 



non Bailey in his report upon these animals says : 

 " Throughottt the prairies of the Mississippi 

 Valley the Striped Spermophile is a familiar 

 object as it darts through the grass to its hole or 

 is seen standing upright on its hind feet, straight 

 and motionless as a stick. With its short ears, 

 smoothly rounded head, and the fore feet droop- 

 ing at its sides, there is no point about its out- 

 line to catch the eye, and at a little distance it is 



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By permission of the New York Zoological Society 



THIRTEEN-STRIPED SPERMOPHILE 

 This peculiarly marked Ground Squirrel is a Plains type, and is not found in heavily wooded sections 



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