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White-tailed antelope squirrel - AMMOSPERMOPHILUS LEUCURUS
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
The Name "Squirrel": "Squirrel" comes from the Middle English word
"squyrel," which came from the Greek "skiouros" for the animal.
Notice that the family name for these animals is "Sciuridae," which
may also be the derivation of our word "scurry."
Location: Southwestern United States, and northwestern Mexico.
Habitat: Desert terrain with sparse vegetation
Description: The antelope squirrel’s coat is pinkish gray with a white stripe on each side of the body. There are two molts each year: The winter coat has more fine underfur than the summer coat, which has a harsher feel. The underside of the tail is white. The female has 10 nipples. Length of head and body is about six inches, with an additional three inches for the tail. It weighs only about a quarter of a pound.
Behavior: This squirrel feeds on seeds, insects, and flesh, and leads a mainly solitary existence. It does not hibernate, and is active even when the ground is covered with snow. It is diurnal and remains active even when the weather is hot. The white part of the tail is exposed when the antelope squirrel runs and is often used as a visual signal to communicate with other antelope squirrels that danger is imminent. Like the other ground squirrels, this species stores food in its underground burrow.
Reproduction: As a rule the female gives birth twice a year and has a litter of 6 to 10 young.
Go to the Rodents Page to learn more about all the gnawing animals.
Or go to the Squirrel Index to study other
squirrels.
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