Yellow ground squirrel

Yellow ground squirrel
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Sciuridae
Genus:	Spermophilus
Species:	S. fulvus
Binomial name
Spermophilus fulvus (Lichtenstein, 1823)

The yellow ground squirrel (Spermophilus fulvus) is a large and sturdy ground squirrel species native to Afghanistan, China, Iran, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Russia. It inhabits sandy steppes with Artemisia, glasswort and tamarisk.^[1]

The yellow ground squirrel has naked soles on the hind feet excluding heels. It lives in large colonies, is strictly diurnal and forages mainly in the morning when the vegetation is still damp. Its diet includes bulbs, seeds, stems and leaves. It hibernates, but it may also aestivate.^[2]

References

1. Cassola, F. (2017). "Spermophilus fulvus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T20484A22263403. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T20484A22263403.en. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
2. Aulagnier S.; P. Haffner, A. J. Mitchell-Jones, F. Moutou & J. Zima (2009). Mammals of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, A&C Black, London.