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Little Ground Squirrel
Spermophilus pygmaeus
The little ground squirrel or little souslik (Spermophilus pygmaeus) is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is found from Eastern Europe to Central Asia.
Its subspecies include Spermophilus pygmaeus pygmaeus, Spermophilus pygmaeus brauneri, Spermophilus pygmaeus herbicolus and Spermophilus pygmaeus mugosaricus. The Caucasian mountain ground squirrel (Spermophilus musicus) is now considered to be a separate species.
From the article Little ground squirrel on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Description
The little ground squirrel has a stout, low-slung body, short legs and a well-furred tail. It has a brownish-grey back with ochre and yellowish mottling. The head is notably darker with more intense ochre tones and the tail is a light, grayish-ochre color with a pale tip. The body length is up to 230 millimetres and the tail measures up to 40 millimetres.
Wikipedia: “Morphology”
Range & habitat
The little ground squirrel inhabits steppes and semi-deserts in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, ranging from Ukraine and European Russia east as far as the Aral Sea (Kazakhstan) and Dagestan (Russia). It is found at altitudes of up to 500 metres. The range of the species has been reduced over the last 20 years, probably as a result of climate change with more wet weather and wet years in the region. A decrease in cattle grazing and arable farming may also have played a role.
Wikipedia: “Distribution”
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Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
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Every page naming Spermophilus pygmaeus in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 46045.