Urocitellus

Urocitellus is a genus of ground squirrels. They were previously believed to belong to the much larger genus Spermophilus, but DNA sequencing of the cytochrome b gene showed that this group was paraphyletic to the prairie dogs and marmots,^[2][3] and could therefore no longer be retained as a single genus. As a result, Urocitellus is now considered as a genus in its own right.^[4]

Phylum:Chordata

Class:Mammalia

Order:Rodentia

Family:Sciuridae

Quick facts Scientific classification, Type species ...

Urocitellus
Richardson's ground squirrel in Manitoba
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Sciuridae
Tribe:	Marmotini
Genus:	Urocitellus Obolenskij, 1927
Type species
Spermophilus eversmanni Brandt, 1842 (= Mus citillus undulata Pallas, 1779)[1]
Species
See text.

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All but two species are native to the northern and western parts of North America, from California and Minnesota through the north-western United States and western Canada; the Arctic ground squirrel inhabits Arctic terrain on both sides of the Bering Strait, while the long-tailed ground squirrel is exclusively found in Asia. The name of the genus is said to be derived from the Latin uro, meaning "tail" and citellus for "ground squirrel".^[4] The proper word for "tail" in classical Latin is cauda.^[5] Oura (οὐρά) is the ancient Greek word for "tail".^[6]