Mammals of the WorldPallid Ground Squirrel
Spermophilus pallidicauda
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Sciuridae
- Genus
- Spermophilus
- IUCN status
- LC
- Distribution
- Mongolia|China
- Realm
- Palearctic
About this species
- Size
- About 20 cm long
- Habitat
- Gobi grassland
The pallid ground squirrel is about 20 cm long and is noticeably pale. Its straw-brown coat becomes sandier in summer, the underside is lighter, and the short whitish-yellow tail carries a rusty stripe along much of its upper surface. White eyelids, a pale facial streak and a rusty spot beneath each eye add useful field marks. Genetic work supports its separation from the similar Brandt's and Alashan ground squirrels. (Wikipedia, pallid ground squirrel account)
This is a Mongolian and Inner Mongolian species of Gobi grassland. Documented Mongolian localities include areas near Lake Khulu-Nur and the Baidarak River, Ullyn Bulyk, and the Mongolian and Gobi Altai ranges. It is colonial, terrestrial and active during daylight. The opened account did not give a species-level diet, breeding schedule or burrow description, so those details are not borrowed from relatives. Where its range meets the Alashan ground squirrel, genetic evidence shows that hybridisation can occur. (Wikipedia, pallid ground squirrel account)
Description: Wildlife of Mongolia guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)