Tamias siskiyou (A. H. Howell, 1922)

Don E. Wilson, Thomas E. Lacher, Jr & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2016, Sciuridae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 6 Lagomorphs and Rodents I, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 648-837 : 789

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

 

177. View Plate 53: Sciuridae

Siskiyou Chipmunk

Tamias siskiyou View in CoL

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).

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Rodentia

Family

Sciuridae

Genus

Tamias

Loc

Tamias siskiyou

Don E. Wilson, Thomas E. Lacher, Jr & Russell A. Mittermeier 2016
2016
Loc

Eutamias townsendii siskiyou

A. H. Howell 1922
1922
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