30-592: 15, see text Marmots are large ground squirrels in the genus Marmota , with 15 species living in Asia, Europe, and North America. These herbivores are active during the summer, when they can often be found in groups, but are not seen during the winter, when they hibernate underground. They are the heaviest members of the squirrel family. Marmots are large rodents with characteristically short but robust legs, enlarged claws which are well adapted to digging, stout bodies, and large heads and incisors to quickly process
60-1114: A holiday intended to observe the prevalence of marmots in that state and take the place of Groundhog Day . Some historians and paleogeneticists have postulated that the Yersinia pestis variant that caused the Black Death pandemic that struck Eurasia in the 14th century originated from a variant for which marmots in China were the natural reservoir species. Ground squirrel Palaeosciurus ( fossil ) Sciurotamias Spermophilinus (fossil) Ammospermophilus Spermophilus Notocitellus Otospermophilus Callospermophilus Xerospermophilus Cynomys Poliocitellus Ictidomys Arctomyoides (fossil) Miospermophilus (fossil) Paenemarmota (fossil) Palaearctomys (fossil) Protospermophilus (fossil) Marmota Eutamias Neotamias Nototamias (fossil) Tamias Urocitellus and see text Ground squirrels are rodents of
90-510: A marmot was printed and distributed as early as 1605 by Jacopo Ligozzi , who was noted for his images of flora and fauna. The etymology of the term "marmot" is uncertain. It may have arisen from the Gallo-Romance prefix marm- , meaning to mumble or murmur (an example of onomatopoeia ). Another possible origin is postclassical Latin , mus montanus , meaning "mountain mouse". Beginning in 2010, Alaska celebrates February 2 as " Marmot Day ",
120-613: A predator is in sight, they stop and watch 60% of the time. Ground squirrels are also known for their burrowing behavior. They have intricate tunnel systems with multiple entrances, which provide escape routes from predators. When a threat approaches, they quickly retreat underground, where they are safe from most predators. Their burrows are designed with multiple chambers and ranges between 5 and 30 feet (1.5 and 9.1 m), making it challenging for predators to reach them. This combination of vocal warnings and burrow construction makes ground squirrels highly adapted to evade danger and survive in
150-513: A variety of vegetation. While most species are various forms of earthen-hued brown, marmots vary in fur coloration based roughly on their surroundings. Species in more open habitat are more likely to have a paler color, while those sometimes found in well- forested regions tend to be darker. Marmots are the heaviest members of the squirrel family. Total length varies typically from about 42 to 72 cm (17 to 28 in) and body mass averages about 2 kg ( 4 + 1 ⁄ 2 lb) in spring in
180-699: Is a marmot species that inhabits alpine grasslands throughout the Himalayas and on the Tibetan Plateau . It is IUCN Red Listed as Least Concern because of its wide range and possibly large population. Arctomys himalayanus was the scientific name proposed by Brian Houghton Hodgson in 1841 who described marmot skins from the Himalayas. In the 19th century, several Himalayan marmot specimens were described and proposed as subspecies . Two genetically distinct subspecies are recognized today: The Himalayan marmot
210-452: Is a list of all Marmota species recognized by Thorington and Hoffman plus the recently defined M. kastschenkoi . They divide marmots into two subgenera . Some extinct species of marmots are recognized from the fossil record, for example: Marmots have been known since antiquity. Research by the French ethnologist Michel Peissel claimed the story of the " Gold-digging ant " reported by
240-650: Is also supported by the enigmatic Chinese genus Sciurotamias , which may be the most ancient living lineage of this group, or—if the chipmunks are not included here—close to the common ancestor of the Tamiini and the Marmotini sensu stricto . In any case, expansion of the Marmotini to Africa was probably prevented by competitive exclusion by their close relatives the Protoxerini and Xerini —the native terrestrial and palm squirrels of that continent, which must have evolved at
270-481: Is not classified in the genus Marmota , but in the related genus Cynomys . Marmots typically live in burrows (often within rockpiles, particularly in the case of the yellow-bellied marmot ), and hibernate there through the winter. Most marmots are highly social and use loud whistles to communicate with one another, especially when alarmed. Marmots mainly eat greens and many types of grasses , berries , lichens , mosses , roots , and flowers . The following
300-456: Is very closely related to the Tarbagan marmot ( M. sibirica ) and somewhat more distantly to the black-capped marmot ( M. camtschatica ). These three form a species group , with their next nearest relatives being the bobak species group, which includes the bobak marmot ( M. bobak ) itself, as well as the grey marmot ( M. baibacina ) and forest-steppe marmot ( M. kastschenkoi ). In the past,
330-963: The Alps , northern Apennines , Carpathians , Tatras , and Pyrenees in Europe; northwestern Asia; the Rocky Mountains , Black Hills , the Cascade and Pacific Ranges , and the Sierra Nevada in North America; and the Deosai Plateau in Pakistan and Ladakh in India. Other species prefer rough grassland and can be found widely across North America and the Eurasian Steppe . The slightly smaller and more social prairie dog
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#1732854628245360-570: The Ancient Greek historian Herodotus , who lived in the fifth century BCE, was founded on the golden Himalayan marmot of the Deosai Plateau and the habit of local tribes such as the Brokpa to collect the gold dust excavated from their burrows. Some historians believe that Strabo 's λέων μύρμηξ and Agatharchides 's μυρμηκολέων , most probably are the marmot. An anatomically accurate image of
390-543: The Early Oligocene , more than 30 million years ago (Mya), but the genus probably persisted at least until the mid- Miocene , some 15 Mya. Where the Marmotini originated is unclear. The subtribes probably diverged in the early to mid- Oligocene , as primitive marmots and chipmunks are known from the Late Oligocene of North America. The fossil record of the "true" ground squirrels is less well known, beginning only in
420-553: The Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau at altitudes of 3,000–5,500 m (9,800–18,000 ft) in northeastern Pakistan, northern India, Nepal , Bhutan and China. In China, it has been recorded in Xinjiang , Qinghai , Gansu , Xizang , western Sichuan and Yunnan provinces. In the west its distribution reaches that of the long-tailed marmot ( M. caudata ), but the two are not known to hybridise . The Himalayan marmot lives in short grass steppes or alpine habitats, typically above
450-490: The Tibetan plateau , marmot species form part of snow leopard prey . Other predators of Himalayan marmots include Tibetan wolves , red fox , and large birds of prey like golden eagles . It was known to the ancient Greek writers as the gold-digging ant apparently as reference to the fact that gold nuggets were found in the silts of the burrows these marmots dug. The French ethnologist Michel Peissel claimed that
480-426: The squirrel family ( Sciuridae ) that generally live on the ground or in burrows , rather than in trees like the tree squirrels . The term is most often used for the medium-sized ground squirrels, as the larger ones are more commonly known as marmots (genus Marmota ) or prairie dogs , while the smaller and less bushy-tailed ground squirrels tend to be known as chipmunks (genus Tamias ). Together, they make up
510-722: The tree line but below the permanent snow limit. The Himalayan marmot lives in colonies and excavates deep burrows that colony members share during hibernation . The species hibernates from the late autumn to the early spring, on average for 7½ months. The burrows are between 2 and 10 m (6 ft 7 in – 32 ft 10 in) deep, provided that the upper soil layer is sufficiently light and deep such as fluvioglacial , deluvial and alluvial deposits . Where soil conditions are ideal on alluvial terraces, marmot colonies comprise up to 30 families, with up to 10 families living in an area of 1 km (0.39 sq mi). The marmot eats plants growing on pastures, in particular
540-824: The "marmot tribe " of squirrels, Marmotini , a clade within the large and mainly ground squirrel subfamily Xerinae , and containing six living genera . Well-known members of this largely Holarctic group are the marmots ( Marmota ), including the American groundhog , the chipmunks , the susliks ( Spermophilus ), and the prairie dogs ( Cynomys ). They are highly variable in size and habitus , but most are remarkably able to rise up on their hind legs and stand fully erect comfortably for prolonged periods. They also tend to be far more gregarious than other squirrels, and many live in colonies with complex social structures. Most Marmotini are rather short-tailed and large squirrels. At up to 8 kg (18 lb) or more, certain marmots are
570-492: The Olympic marmot, but are not known to reach as high a total length as the Olympic species. In the traditional definition of hibernation , the largest marmots are considered the largest "true hibernators" (since larger "hibernators" such as bears do not have the same physiological characteristics as obligate hibernating animals such as assorted rodents , bats and insectivores ). Some species live in mountainous areas, such as
600-742: The Tamiina subtribe and some basal genera) derived from maximum parsimony analysis. N. adocetus N. annulatus A. harrisii A. leucurus A. harrisii A. interpres O. atricapillus O. beecheyi O. variegatus C. saturatus C. lateralis C. madrensis M. monax M. marmota M. flaviventris M. caligata M. olympus M. vancouveriensis M. broweri M. menzbieri M. caudata M. baibacina M. bobak M. camtschatica M. himalayana M. sibirica S. musicus S. pygmaeus S. major S. pygmaeus S. dauricus S. xanthopyrmnus Himalayan marmot The Himalayan marmot ( Marmota himalayana )
630-436: The heaviest squirrels. The chipmunks of the genus Tamias frequently spend time in trees. Also closer to typical squirrels in other aspects, they are occasionally considered a tribe of their own (Tamiini). Palaeosciurus from Europe is the oldest known ground squirrel species, and it does not seem to be particularly close to any of the two to three living lineages (subtribes) of Marmotini. The oldest fossils are from
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#1732854628245660-544: The mid-Miocene, when modern susliks and prairie dogs are known to have inhabited their present-day range already. Whether the Marmotini dispersed between North America and Eurasia via " island-hopping " across the Bering Straits or the Greenland region—both of which were temperate habitat at that time—and from which continent they dispersed to which, or if both continents brought forth distinct subtribes which then spread to
690-490: The other, is not known and would probably require more fossil material to be resolved. In any case, the fairly comprehensive fossil record of Europe—at the relevant time separated from Asia by the Turgai Sea —lacks ancient Marmotini except the indeterminate Palaeosciurus , which might be taken to indicate an East Asian or western North American origin with trans-Beringia dispersal being the slightly more satisfying hypothesis. This
720-454: The relatively short-furred and short-tailed marmots of the Palearctic region, i.e. Himalayan, Tarbagan, grey and forest-steppe, were all regarded as subspecies of the bobak marmot. The Himalayan marmot has a dense woolly fur that is rufous grey on the back and rufous yellowish on ears, belly and limbs. The bridge of its nose and end of tail is dark brown. It is one of the largest marmots in
750-803: The same time as the Marmotini did. Ground squirrels can measure anywhere from about 7.2 inches (18 cm) in height up to nearly 30 inches (76 cm). They can weigh between 0.09 pounds (0.041 kg) and 24 pounds (11 kg). Open areas including rocky outcrops, fields, pastures, and sparsely wooded hillsides comprise their habitat. Ground squirrels also live in grassy areas such as pastures, golf courses, cemeteries, and parks. Ground squirrels have developed several defense mechanisms to protect themselves from predators. When threatened, they emit high-pitched warning calls to alert others in their colony. This alarm call serves as an early warning system, allowing nearby squirrels to seek cover. The squirrels spend about one-third of their time standing to watch and when
780-639: The smaller species and 8 kg (18 lb) in autumn, at times exceeding 11 kg (24 lb), in the larger species. The largest and smallest species are not clearly known. In North America, on the basis of mean linear dimensions and body masses through the year, the smallest species appears to be the Alaska marmot and the largest is the Olympic marmot . Some species, such as the Himalayan marmot and Tarbagan marmot in Asia, appear to attain roughly similar body masses to
810-419: The soft and juicy parts of grassy plant species like Carex , Agrostis , Deschampsia , Koeleria and flowering species like Euphrasia , Gentiana , Halenia , Polygonum , Primula , Ranunculus , Saussurea , Taraxacum , and Iris potaninii . Females become sexually mature at the age of two years. After one month of gestation they give birth to litters of two to 11 young. On
840-553: The story of 'gold-digging ants' reported by the Greek historian Herodotus was founded on the golden Himalayan marmot of the Deosai plateau and the habit of local tribes such as the Minaro to collect the gold dust excavated from their burrows. A photograph of a Himalayan marmot under attack by a Tibetan fox taken by Bao Yongqing won the overall prize in the 2019 Wildlife Photographer of
870-454: The wild. Ground squirrels are omnivorous, and not only eat a diet rich in fungi, nuts, fruits, and seeds, but also occasionally eat insects, eggs, and other small animals. Basal and incertae sedis genera Subtribe Tamiina : chipmunks (might be full tribe) Subtribe Marmotina : marmots and prairie dogs Subtribe Spermophilina : true ground squirrels Below is a partial cladogram of ground squirrels (tribe Marmotini , but excluding
900-466: The world, being about the size of a large housecat ; their average body weight ranges from 4 to 9.2 kg (8.8 to 20.3 lb), with weights lowest post-hibernation in spring and highest prior to it in autumn. In the autumn, average weight is reportedly more than 7 kg (15 lb) in both sexes. The total length is about 45 to 67 cm (18 to 26 in), with a tail length of 12 to 15 cm (4.7 to 5.9 in). The Himalayan marmot occurs in
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