THE GROUND SQUIRRELS OF CALIFORNIA. 



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CALIFORNIA GROUND SQUIRREL. 

 Citellus beecheyi beecheyi (Richardson). 



PLATE i. 



Other names. — Digger Squirrel, part ; Beechey Ground Squirrel ; Beechey's Mar- 

 mot ; Beechey Spermophile ;. Spermophilus "beecheyi, part ; Arctomys beecheyi; Spermo- 

 philus grammurus beecheyi, part ; Citellus variegatus beecheyi; Citellus grammurus 

 beecheyi; Otospermophilus beecheyi. 



Field characters. — A large ground-dwelling squirrel, with long bushy tail, good- 

 sized ears, and general brownish coloration ; dull whitish area on side of neck and 

 shoulder, and fine dappled pattern of coloration on back and sides, to be seen in close 

 view. Length of body alone about 10£ inches, with tail (without hairs) about 6£ 

 inches more. 



Description— Adults in summer pelage : Top of head, stripe down middle of hind 

 neck, whole back, sides, and rump, of a general wood brown tone of coloration, but 

 variegated in fine pattern on back, rump and sides by mottlings of snuff brown and 

 buffy white ; these mottlings usually line up in transverse rows, the rows being most 

 distinct across the rump ; a large area centering on side of neck and involving 



e f g h 



Fig. 1. Ears of ground squirrels to show characters of size and shape in different 

 species, a, California Ground Squirrel ; b, Fisher Ground Squirrel ; c, Oregon 

 Ground Squirrel ; d, Stephens Soft-haired Ground Squirrel ; e, Mohave Ground Squir- 

 rel ; f, Yuma Round-tailed Ground Squirrel ; g, Sierra Golden-mantled Ground Squir- 

 rel ; h, Desert Antelope Ground Squirrel. All natural size and drawn direct from 

 specimens. Note : a and b are extreme examples ; the average difference existing 

 between the California and the Fisher ground squirrels is much less; individuals of 

 each race can be found which will overlap some individuals of the other in size 

 and shape. 



shoulder, and a faint stripe backward a short distance from upper margin of this 

 area, dull white. Cheeks dirty white, changing to wood brown color between eye and 

 ear ; eyelids white ; whiskers black. Ears tall and conspicuous, finely haired ; color 

 of ear inside, pale pinkish buff ; back of ear, front half, black, becoming dull cinnamon 

 buff at base and on hinder margin ; fine black hairs extending above rim at tip of 

 ear sometimes so numerous and long as to form a small tuft ; whole lower surface 

 of body, inner sides of fore and hind legs, and upper sides of feet, pinkish buff ; hairs 

 of breast and belly gray at base, this resulting in a darker tone on this area. Palms 

 of fere feet naked ; soles of hind feet thinly haired behind tubercles, or else wholly 

 naked, due apparently to wearing away of the hairs altogether ; claws brownish black, 

 horn-color toward tips. Tail bushy, though not nearly so much so as in the tree 

 squirrels, flat haired, parallel-sided, and square or round ended ; hairs along sides of tail 

 about 41 mm. (If inches) long, at end of tail the same ; general color of tail both 

 above and below buffy grizzled gray, in other words mixed black and buffy white in 



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