Page:Natural History of the Ground Squirrels of California.djvu/15

CALIFORNIA GROUND SQUIRREL.

Citellus beecheyi beecheyi (Richardson).

PLATE I.

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Other names.—Digger Squirrel, part; Beechey Ground Squirrel; Beechey's Marmot; Beechey Spermophile; Spermophilus beecheyi, part; Arctomys beecheyi; Spermophilus grammurus beecheyi, part; Citellus variegatus beecheyi; Citellus grammurus beecheyi; Otospermophilus beecheyi.

Field characters.—A large ground-dwelling squirrel, with long bushy tail, good-sized ears, and general brownish coloration; dull whitish area on side of neck and shoulder, and fine dappled pattern of coloration on back and sides, to be seen in close view. Length of body alone about 10½ inches, with tail (without hairs) about 6½ inches more.

Description.—Adults in summer pelage: Top of head, stripe down middle of hind neck, whole back, sides, and rump, of a general wood brown tone of coloration, but variegated in fine pattern on back, rump and sides by mottlings of snuff brown and buffy white; these mottlings usually line up in transverse rows, the rows being most distinct across the rump; a large area centering on side of neck and involving

Fig. 1. Ears of ground squirrels to show characters of size and shape in different species. a, California Ground Squirrel; b, Fisher Ground Squirrel; c, Oregon Ground Squirrel; d, Stephens Soft-haired Ground Squirrel; e, Mohave Ground Squirrel; f, Yuma Round-tailed Ground Squirrel; g. Sierra Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel; h. Desert Antelope Ground Squirrel. All natural size and drawn direct from specimens. Note: a and b are extreme examples; the average difference existing between the California and the Fisher ground squirrels is much less; individuals of each race can be found which will overlap some individuals of the other in size and shape.

shoulder, and a faint stripe backward a short distance from upper margin of this area, dull white. Cheeks dirty white, changing to wood brown color between eye and ear; eyelids white; whiskers black. Ears tall and conspicuous, finely haired; color of ear inside, pale pinkish buff; back of ear, front half, black, becoming dull cinnamon buff at base and on hinder margin; fine black hairs extending above rim at tip of ear sometimes so numerous and long as to form a small tuft; whole lower surface of body, inner sides of fore and hind legs, and upper sides of feet, pinkish buff; hairs of breast and belly gray at base, this resulting in a darker tone on this area. Palms of fore feet naked; soles of hind feet thinly haired behind tubercles, or else wholly naked, due apparently to wearing away of the hairs altogether; claws brownish black, horn-color toward tips. Tail bushy, though not nearly so much so as in the tree squirrels, flat haired, parallel-sided, and square or round ended; hairs along sides of tail about 41 mm. (1⅝ inches) long, at end of tail the same; general color of tail both above and below buffy grizzled gray, in other words mixed black and buffy white in

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