78 SQUIRRELS, MABMOTS AND PIKAS. 



strongly resented any intrusion. It met its fate one day when it 

 attacked a large Tom cat. 



The first species was described by Pallas under the name oi 

 Eutamias asiaticus from the mountains west of Peking. Dr. Miller des- 

 cribed a sub-species E. a. senescens from the mountains west of Peking. 

 Anderson and I secured specimens from the Ordos Desert, which were 

 very much paler and more buff coloured than the last mentioned, and 

 so were described as distinct under the name of E. a. ordindlis. A 

 third sub-species, intermediate between the Chihli and Ordos forms 

 was also described from our collection, being called E. a. intercessor. 

 This last inhabits the mountainous areas of West Shansi. Some 

 chipmunks secured by me in Manchuria show a very much darker 

 colouring, while other species and allied genera occur in Sze-chuan 

 and elsewhere. 



Belated to the chipmunks are the susliks or, as they are more 

 popularly called, "gophers." These are often referred to as ground 

 squirrels. They are small rodents not unlike squirrels, but having 

 short, less bushy tails and very small ears. They are also purely 

 terrestial, being unable to climb trees. They inhabit plains and desert 

 areas, excavating deep and extensive burrows, for which purpose their 

 fore-paws are larger and more powerful than those of the chipmunk, 

 and are armed with long, sharp claws. Their bodies are long and 

 their limbs short, which characteristics, with their short ears and tails 

 help them in their semi-subterranean lives. They feed upon different 

 herbs and small plants, which grow at convenient distances from their 

 burrows. If they can get at fields off grain they will work great havoc. 

 They seldom go far from the mouths of their burrows, and keep a 

 eharp look out 1 for enemies, whom they escape by diving underground. 

 They may often be seen sitting up like sentinels upon the mounds of 

 earth, which they raise beside their burrows. Scanning the open plain 

 in every direction, they make sure that no enemy is near ere they 

 will go foraging, and it is a difficult matter for any wild beast to 

 approach them. Man they seem to scorn, and so can be caught easily. 

 They are diurnal in their habits, and, like the chipmunks, 

 hibernate during the winter. In colour they are of a uniform sandy- 

 grey, slightly darker above. 



One species, Citellus mongolicus, occurs in North China, a sub- 

 species, C. m. umbratus, having been described from the grasslands 

 of Inner Mongolia. 



A very large, closely related genus is that of the marmots, which 

 is represented in North China by a single species (Marmota robusfri). 



