Himalayan marmot

Himalayan marmot
Individual at Tshophu Lake, Bhutan (above), group with worn pelage in Ladakh, India (below)
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Sciuridae
Genus:	Marmota
Species:	M. himalayana
Binomial name
Marmota himalayana (Hodgson, 1841)

The Himalayan marmot (Marmota himalayana) is a marmot species that inhabits alpine grasslands throughout the Himalayas and on the Tibetan Plateau. It is IUCN Red Listed as Least Concern because of its wide range and possibly large population.^[1]

Taxonomy

Arctomys himalayanus was the scientific name proposed by Brian Houghton Hodgson in 1841 who described marmot skins from the Himalayas.^[2] In the 19th century, several Himalayan marmot specimens were described and proposed as subspecies.^[3] Two genetically distinct subspecies are recognized today:^[4]

• M. h. himalayana
• M. h. robusta (Milne-Edwards, 1871) – Szechwan marmot^[5]

The Himalayan marmot is very closely related to the Tarbagan marmot (M. sibirica) and somewhat more distantly to the black-capped marmot (M. camtschatica). These three form a species group, with their next nearest relatives being the bobak species group, which includes the bobak marmot (M. bobak) itself, as well as the grey marmot (M. baibacina) and forest-steppe marmot (M. kastschenkoi). In the past, the relatively short-furred and short-tailed marmots of the Palearctic region, i.e. Himalayan, Tarbagan, grey and forest-steppe, were all regarded as subspecies of the bobak marmot.^[6]

Characteristics

Himalayan marmots near Pangong Tso, Ladakh

The Himalayan marmot has a dense woolly fur that is rufous grey on the back and rufous yellowish on ears, belly and limbs. The bridge of its nose and end of tail is dark brown.^[2] It is one of the largest marmots in the world, being about the size of a large housecat; their average body weight ranges from 4 to 9.2 kg (8.8 to 20.3 lb), with weights lowest post-hibernation in spring and highest prior to it in autumn. In the autumn, average weight is reportedly more than 7 kg (15 lb) in both sexes. The total length is about 45 to 67 cm (18 to 26 in), with a tail length of 12 to 15 cm (4.7 to 5.9 in).^[7][8][9]

Distribution and habitat

Himalayan marmots near Ganda La, Ladakh

The Himalayan marmot occurs in the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau at altitudes of 3,000–5,500 m (9,800–18,000 ft) in northeastern Pakistan, northern India, Nepal, Bhutan and China.^[6][10] In China, it has been recorded in Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu, Xizang, western Sichuan and Yunnan provinces.^[11] In the west its distribution reaches that of the long-tailed marmot (M. caudata), but the two are not known to hybridise. The Himalayan marmot lives in short grass steppes or alpine habitats, typically above the tree line but below the permanent snow limit.^[6]

Ecology and behaviour

Himalayan marmot peeping out of its burrow

The Himalayan marmot lives in colonies and excavates deep burrows that colony members share during hibernation.^[10] The species hibernates from the late autumn to the early spring, on average for 7½ months.^[6] The burrows are between 2 and 10 m (6 ft 7 in – 32 ft 10 in) deep, provided that the upper soil layer is sufficiently light and deep such as fluvioglacial, deluvial and alluvial deposits. Where soil conditions are ideal on alluvial terraces, marmot colonies comprise up to 30 families, with up to 10 families living in an area of 1 km² (0.39 sq mi). The marmot eats plants growing on pastures, in particular the soft and juicy parts of grassy plant species like Carex, Agrostis, Deschampsia, Koeleria and flowering species like Euphrasia, Gentiana, Halenia, Polygonum, Primula, Ranunculus, Saussurea, Taraxacum, and Iris potaninii.^[7]

Reproduction

Females become sexually mature at the age of two years. After one month of gestation they give birth to litters of two to 11 young.^[10]

Predators

On the Tibetan plateau, marmot species form part of snow leopard prey.^[12] Other predators of Himalayan marmots include Tibetan wolves, red fox, and large birds of prey like golden eagles.^[13][14]

In culture

It was known to the ancient Greek writers as the gold-digging ant apparently as reference to the fact that gold nuggets were found in the silts of the burrows these marmots dug.^[15][16] The French ethnologist Michel Peissel claimed that the story of 'gold-digging ants' reported by the Greek historian Herodotus was founded on the golden Himalayan marmot of the Deosai plateau and the habit of local tribes such as the Minaro to collect the gold dust excavated from their burrows.^[17]

A photograph of a Himalayan marmot under attack by a Tibetan fox taken by Bao Yongqing won the overall prize in the 2019 Wildlife Photographer of the Year award.^[18]

See also

• Long-tailed marmot

References

1. Shrestha, T. (2017) [errata version of 2016 assessment]. "Marmota himalayana". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T12826A115106426.
2. Hodgson, B. H. (1841). "Notice of the Marmot of the Himalaya and of Tibet". The Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. 10 (2): 777–778.
3. Thorington, R.W. Jr; Hoffman, R.S. (2005). "Species Marmota (Marmota) himalayana". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 801. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
4. Yan, J.; Chen, H.; Lin, G.; Li, Qian; C., Jiarui; Q., Wen; S., Jianping; Z., Tongzuo (2017). "Genetic evidence for subspecies differentiation of the Himalayan marmot, Marmota himalayana, in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau". PLoS One. 12 (8): e0183375. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0183375. PMC 5557547. PMID 28809943.
5. Allen, G. M. (1940). "Marmota himalayanus robusta (Milne-Edwards) Szechwan Marmot". The Mammals of China and Mongolia. New York: The American Museum of Natural History. p. 712.
6. Kryštufek, B.; Vohralík, B. (2013). "Taxonomic revision of the Palaearctic rodents (Rodentia). Part 2. Sciuridae: Urocitellus, Marmota and Sciurotamias". Lynx, N. S. (Praha). 44: 27–138.
7. Nikol’skii, A. A.; Ulak, A. (2006). "Key factors determining the ecological niche of the Himalayan marmot, Marmota himalayana Hodgson (1841)". Russian Journal of Ecology. 37 (1): 46–52. Bibcode:2006RuJEc..37...46N. doi:10.1134/S1067413606010085. S2CID 23526958.
8. Chaudhary, V.; Tripathi, R. S.; Singh, S.; Raghuvanshi, M. S. (2017). "Distribution and population of Himalayan Marmot Marmota himalayana (Hodgson, 1841) (Mammalia: Rodentia: Sciuridae) in Leh-Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir, India". Journal of Threatened Taxa. 9 (11): 10886–10891. doi:10.11609/jott.3336.9.11.10886-10891.
9. Duff, A.; Lawson, A. (2004). Mammals of the World: A Checklist. Yale University Press. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-300-10398-4. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
10. Molur, S.; Srinivasulu, C.; Srinivasulu, B.; Walker, S.; Nameer, P.O.; Ravikumar, L. (2005). Status of non-volant small mammals: Conservation Assessment and Management Plan (C.A.M.P) workshop report. Coimbatore, India: Zoo Outreach Organisation / CBSG-South Asia.
11. Smith, A.T.; Xie, Y. (2008). A Guide to the Mammals of China. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
12. Lyngdoh, S.; Shrotriya, S.; Goyal, S. P.; Clements, H.; Hayward, M. W. & Habib, B. (2014). "Prey preferences of the snow leopard (Panthera uncia): regional diet specificity holds global significance for conservation". PLoS One. 9 (2): e88349. Bibcode:2014PLoSO...988349L. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0088349. PMC 3922817. PMID 24533080.
13. Padgett, L.; Small, C. (2011). "Marmota himalayana, Himalayan marmot". Animal Diversity Web. Archived from the original on 6 September 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
14. Ghai, R. (2020). "After bats, do not make marmots into villains: Expert". Down To Earth. Archived from the original on 2 August 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
15. Simons, Marlise (25 November 1996). "Himalayas offer clue to legend of gold digging 'ants'". New York Times. Archived from the original on 2016-04-14 – via livius.org.
16. N. Shiva Kumar (September 22, 2013). "Marmots caught off guard". The Hindu. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
17. Peissel, M. (1984). "The Ants' Gold: The Discovery of the Greek El Dorado in the Himalayas". Harvill Press. ISBN 978-0-00-272514-9.
18. "Wildlife photographer of the year 2019 winners – in pictures". The Guardian. 2019-10-16. Archived from the original on 2019-10-16. Retrieved 16 October 2019.