GROUND SQUIRREL 



light stripes of back more continuous." (Bailey) Total 

 length, 9.3 inches; tail vertebras, 2.8 inches; hind foot, 1.3 

 inches. Found in Lincoln County, New Mexico; limits of 

 range unknown. 



Texas Striped Ground Squirrel. — Citellus tridecemlineatus 

 texensis (Merriam). 

 Smaller than typical tridecemlineatus and redder in color. 

 Ground color of upperparts warm chestnut; light markings 

 buffy with sprinkling of chestnut; tail above with tinge of 

 rusty red on basal half, below strongly marked with rusty 

 red; underparts and edging of tail buffy. Total length, 9 

 inches; tail vertebrae, 3.4 inches; hind foot, 1.3 inches. 

 Found in a narrow strip, between 96° and 98° (west to 99° 

 in northern Texas) through Texas into Oklahoma; limits of 

 range unknown. 



Franklin Ground Squirrel; Gray Gopher. — Citellus franklini 

 (Sabine). Plate XXIII. 

 The only unstriped member of the tridecemlineatus group. 

 A fairly large species of rather uniform coloration. Upper- 

 parts everywhere mixed dusky, buffy and grayish white, 

 the general impression varying from an iron-gray pepper- 

 and-salt to brownish marked with small light and dark 

 spots; head and neck slightly darker than rest of upperparts; 

 hands and feet dark gray; tail mixed black and gray, moder- 

 ately bushy; underparts grayish to buffy. Total length, 14 

 inches; tail vertebrse, 5 inches; hind foot, 2 inches. Found 

 in "The central United States and Canada, from Oklahoma 

 and Illinois to the Athabaska River. . . . "(Bailey) 



Ground Squirrels are so named because they are terrestrial 

 in habit as contrasted with the arboreal or tree-dwelling 

 Squirrels of the genus Sciurus. Most species of Ground 

 Squirrels very seldom or never climb up on trees; in fact, many 

 of the species live on deserts or treeless plains where they have 

 no opportunity for climbing. Ground Squirrels may be dis- 

 tinguished from Tree Squirrels by their shorter and less bushy 

 tails and by the fact that the animals seek a refuge under- 

 ground. These Squirrels are seldom far from a burrow and 

 run for it immediately upon the approach of danger. The 

 genus Citellus is large and its members possess the ability to 

 find a livelihood in almost any environment. 



The large Arctic forms like parryii live along the river 

 banks and plains of the far North. They are found on the 

 Barren Grounds, in rocky places, and show an especial fond- 

 ness for sandy hillocks. 



Citellus columbiafius and its immediate relatives frequent 

 213 



