Spermophilus

Spermophilus, also known as the Old World ground squirrels, sousliks or, sometimes, spermophiles, is an Old World genus of ground squirrels in the squirrel family (Sciuridae). Formerly, the genus was more species rich, but it has since been reduced to contain only species from Eurasia, with many former species having been moved to other genera. The 18 known species are distributed across the Eurasian steppe belt and adjacent regions between Central Europe and Manchuria. They inhabit steppe and comparable short grassland habitats, including airports, as well semi-deserts and, in some cases, agricultural fields. Their diet is dominated by seeds, grasses, forbs, roots and tubers, but may also include small invertebrates. Spermophilus live in colonial burrows, and spend much of the year in hibernation and, in dry regions, aestivation.

Spermophilus

Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Also called
ground squirrelPBDB
Sits inside
MarmotiniPBDB
Diet
granivore, frugivorePBDB, for Sciuridae
Life habit
semifossorialPBDB
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Osteichthyes
Environment
terrestrialPBDB, for Eutheria

Time the record covers

At least 12 million years on record.

The record covers at least 12.75 Mya to 11.7 ka. No occurrence read is dated outside 23.04 Mya to 0 Mya.

Oligocene — about 0 of 222 occurrencesMiocene — about 46 of 222 occurrencesMiocenePliocene — about 28 of 222 occurrencesPliocenePleistocene — about 145 of 222 occurrencesPleistocene24–23 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences23–22 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences22–21 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences21–20 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences20–20 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences20–19 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences19–18 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences18–17 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences17–16 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences16–16 Mya — about 2 occurrences16–15 Mya — about 2 occurrences15–14 Mya — about 2 occurrences14–13 Mya — about 3 occurrences13–13 Mya — about 3 occurrences13–12 Mya — about 2 occurrences12–11 Mya — about 1 occurrence11–10 Mya — about 1 occurrence10–9.4 Mya — about 1 occurrence9.4–8.6 Mya — about 5 occurrences8.6–7.8 Mya — about 5 occurrences7.8–7.1 Mya — about 5 occurrences7.1–6.3 Mya — about 5 occurrences6.3–5.5 Mya — about 5 occurrences5.5–4.7 Mya — about 5 occurrences4.7–3.9 Mya — about 9 occurrences3.9–3.1 Mya — about 9 occurrences3.1–2.4 Mya — about 12 occurrences2.4–1.6 Mya — about 19 occurrences1.6–785 ka Mya — about 38 occurrences785 ka–0 Mya — about 85 occurrences12.75 Mya11.7 ka23.5 Mya0 Mya

222 occurrences of Spermophilus on record, most of them in the Pleistocene. The Paleobiology Database records this as a living group. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

222 occurrences

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. More on what this infers.

Found in

51 formations

Crooked Creek — 37.20°N, 100.30°WCrooked Creek — 39.00°N, 98.20°WKingsdown — 37.04°N, 100.50°WKingsdown — 37.20°N, 100.30°WAsh Hollow — 40.50°N, 100.50°WAsh Hollow — 41.30°N, 101.89°WAsh Hollow — 43.40°N, 100.60°WAsh Hollow — 41.40°N, 102.40°WAsh Hollow — 41.10°N, 103.00°WSt. David — 32.00°N, 110.20°WAlamosa — 37.37°N, 105.75°WChalk Hills — 42.77°N, 115.92°WChalk Hills — 42.73°N, 115.87°WButte Creek — 43.60°N, 117.50°WRexroad — 37.20°N, 100.30°WBlanco — 33.70°N, 101.10°WRingold — 47.00°N, 118.50°WRingold — 46.30°N, 119.10°WPalm Spring — 32.90°N, 117.10°WGood Creek — 34.00°N, 99.80°WDrewsey — 42.70°N, 118.70°WHepburn's Mesa — 45.80°N, 110.50°WFort Hancock — 31.50°N, 105.20°WSappa — 41.20°N, 96.60°WSappa — 40.20°N, 99.40°WTule — 34.50°N, 101.70°WTule — 34.50°N, 101.30°WMcPherson — 38.30°N, 97.60°WOgallala — 36.80°N, 100.50°WValentine — 42.78°N, 100.03°WFort Randall — 43.10°N, 98.30°WWood Mountain — 49.17°N, 105.99°WJuntura — 43.60°N, 117.50°WAlkali Canyon — 45.72°N, 120.20°W

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The named rock units Spermophilus has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 27 further formations hold fewer occurrences each and are not listed. 127 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Spermophilus and its relatives

Pleistocene

Where Spermophilus and its relatives were recorded in the Pleistocene.

Found in the same rock

1,832 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 205 sites for Spermophilus, and this reads all of them. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

117 references

Each of the 222 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. 105 further references are not listed. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content2

Picture of Spermophilus

Credit
Charles J. Sharp
Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0
Commercial use
the licence allows it

3D model

Source
Sketchfab
Licence
CC Attribution
Commercial use
cannot be read from the licence given — check the record

Smithsonian Open Access and MorphoSource were not reached for this taxon, so this list is what the others held rather than everything there is.

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itMarmotini through timeFormations of the PleistoceneThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. Cuvier 1825