Tamias siskiyou (A. H. Howell, 1922)
publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6840226 |
DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6840627 |
persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/064D0660-FF9C-ED61-FFCD-FEFAFD4AFF4D |
treatment provided by |
Diego |
scientific name |
Tamias siskiyou |
status |
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Siskiyou Chipmunk
French: Tamia des Siskiyou / German: Siskiyou-Backenhornchen / Spanish: Ardilla listada de Siskiyou
Taxonomy. Eutamias townsendii siskiyou A. H. Howell, 1922 ,
“Near summit of White Mountain, 1,829 m of altitude,” Near summit of White Mountain, Siskiyou Mountains, [Siskiyou County] Califor nia,” USA.
This species is part of the townsendii complex, which includes 1. townsendii, T. senex, and 7. ochrogenys. Two subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution.
T.s.siskiyouA.H.Howell,1922—SiskiyouMts,within32kmofthecoast,inSWOregonandNWCalifornia(USA).
T. s. humboldti Sutton & Patterson, 2000 — Siskiyou Mts, except in the area up to 32 km from the coast, in SW Oregon and NW California (USA).
Descriptive notes. Head—body 144-4-146-7 mm, tail 105-107-2 mm; weight mean 75 g. The Siskiyou Chipmunk is very similar to the Yellow-cheeked Chipmunk (7: ochrogenys) and the Shadow Chipmunk (7. senex). Variation between inland and coastal populationsis also similar to variation found in the Shadow Chipmunk, in which the coastal populations have darker coloration than inland populations. However, these species can be differentiated by baculum and baubellum morphology. Nominate siskiyou has dark tawny fur and larger cranial features. Subspecies humboldti has a grayish wash and grayish white dorsal stripes.
Habitat. Mature forests of Cupressaceae: redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and cedar (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana); Pinaceae: western hemlock (73uga heterophylla), Douglasfir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), Jeffrey pine (Pinus jeffreyi), and sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana), also areas with oaks (Quercus, Fagaceae) and maples (Acer, Sapindaceae). It appears to prefer areas with woody debris, and is more common in upland vegetation than in riparian vegetation.
Food and Feeding. Diet consists mainly of seeds and fruits, but also includes hypogeous fungi and insects.
Breeding. Breeding season occurs during April, and after a gestation of 28 days,females give birth to 3-6 young.
Activity patterns. The Siskiyou Chipmunk is terrestrial, but is a good climber. It is an important hypogeous fungi disperser in several types of forests.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. There is no information available for this species.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The current population trend is stable and there are no immediate threats, however effective monitoring and management may be impaired by limited knowledge of the Siskiyou Chipmunk. Because it is restricted to a small geographic area, large scale environmental changes within this area could have an impact.
Bibliography. Jacobs & Luoma (2008), Johnston & Anthony (2008), Linzey & NatureServe (Hammerson) (2008ac), Piaggio & Spicer (2001), Thorington et al. (2012).
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.