Spermophilus xanthoprymnus (Bennett, 1835), the Asia Minor ground squirrel, is a group-living, diurnal, obligately hibernating marmotine squirrel. It inhabits the steppes and alpine meadows throughout central lowland and eastern highland Anatolia and adjacent Armenia and northwestern Iran. Its preferred elevation appears to range from about 800 to 2,900 m. The species displays sexual dimorphism in size, with adult males being considerably larger than adult females and exhibits geographic variation in body size. It is presently listed as “Near Threatened” on the 2009 International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Red List of Threatened Species because of large-scale agricultural activities that result in habitat destruction and fragmentation.
How to translate text using browser tools
26 July 2010
Spermophilus xanthoprymnus (Rodentia: Sciuridae)
Mutlu Kart Gür,
Hakan Gür
ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE
Anatolian ground squirrel
annual cycle
Asia Minor ground squirrel
body-size variation
hibernation
Marmotini
Near Threatened species