Wyoming Ground Squirrel

About the Wyoming Ground Squirrel

The Wyoming ground squirrel (Urocitellus elegans) is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is endemic to the mountain west of the United States. The Wyoming ground squirrel is a moderately sized ground squirrel with adults ranging from 25.3 centimetres (10.0 in) to 30.7 centimetres (12.1 in). It is a big-eared Urocitellus species with a relatively long tail. Its upperparts are light drab, with specks of pink, clay, or cinnamon. The tail is edged with light buff or white and its underside is clay-colored or light brown.

In Montana, western Wyoming, and extreme northeastern Utah the Wyoming ground squirrel co-occurs with the Uinta ground squirrel. The Wyoming ground squirrel can be distinguished by the buff underside of its tail, which is gray in the Uinta. In this zone of sympatry the Wyoming ground squirrel displays character displacement and these populations are smaller and paler.

The Wyoming ground squirrel occurs in three disjunctive populations, each representing a different subspecies. U. e. aureus is found in southwestern Montana and adjacent Idaho where it occurs in valley bottoms and foothills. Throughout its range... Wikipedia →