Rock Squirrel 
163 
The amount of rufous on the back and the brightness of all 
the colors vary much with individuals, season, and state of pelage. 
But the size of the animal and bushy tail serve to readily distinguish 
it from all our other species of the genus except the succeeding. 
Distribution. — This species is found from eastern Colorado south 
and into western Texas, and through New Mexico into eastern 
Arizona. In Colorado it is found, seemingly from present informa- 
tion, east of the Continental Divide, from about 8,000 feet down. 
The most northern record in Colorado is Rist Canon, four miles 
north of Fort Collins, recorded by W. L. Burnett. It is found at 
Crestone, Saguache County. This is the only San Luis Valley 
record I have at present. 
Habits. — Both this and the following described subspecies 
are frequenters of rocky places and according to my observa- 
tions are comparatively seldom found away from such locali- 
ties, though sometimes found along brushy streams burrowing 
in the banks. They are very shy and easily alarmed, and 
not easily approached. 
Their food is seeds and nuts, acorns, and when living near 
orchards they are known to do considerable damage to such 
fruits as apricots, by tearing off the soft parts to get at the 
stone, from which the seed is extracted and carried away. 
One taken in April at Ashbaugh's ranch in Montezuma 
County had fifteen apricot pits in its cheek-pouches, which 
it had evidently taken from its storehouse somewhere. Some 
of these had begun to germinate a little. One killed in the 
fruit season had fifty or more pits in its pouches. This was 
the Utah Rock Squirrel. 
A specimen taken in Baca County, May 19th, contained 
five embryos. 
Citellus variegatus Utah. Utah Rock Squirrel 
Citellus grammurus Utah Merriam, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., xvi., 
p. 77 (1903). 
Type locality. — Foot of Wasatch Mountains, near Ogden, Utah. 
(Vernon Bailey.) 
