At least some populations of this species do not make significant seasonal migrations. Other Habitat Features: urban suburban agricultural By and large this species is widely distributed within its range.
They can be found in urban, suburban and agricultural areas. You may find them down in valleys and up on rocky outcrops in the mountains, to an elevation of 2,200 m. The only habitat they do not use is deserts. You may find them colonizing fields, pastures, grasslands and in open areas such as oak woodlands.
California ground squirrels are terrestrial, and semifossorial, requiring habitats with some loose soil where they can excavate an appropriate burrow. Spermophilus beecheyi has successfully exploited many habitat types. This species occurs in the western United States and adjoining north-western Mexico, from extreme south-central Washington and western Oregon, south-ward throughout most of California, and into north-western Baja California. This species also occurs in portions of southwestern Washington, and Baja California.īiogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native ) Spermophilus beecheyi is found throughout most of California, most of Western Oregon and portions of Western Nevada. Other Physical Features: endothermic homoiothermic bilateral symmetry These animals range in weight from 280 to 738 g. The body length can range from 330 to 508 mm and tail length from 127-229 mm. California ground squirrels have a white ring around each eye. The underside is a lighter combination of light brown, gray and white. The bushy tail is a combination of the colors that appear on the back. The shoulders, neck and sides of this species are a lighter gray. The longer warm season in southern California allows the squirrels to spend a greater number of days awake and foraging, which likely increases the risk of being killed by a predator.Ĭalifornia ground squirrels have mottled fur, with gray, light and dark brown, and white present in their pelage. Predation pressure and time spent aboveground may influence litter size. In the warmest part of their range, in southern California, they average 8.4 young, whereas in the cooler parts of central Oregon, an average of 5.5 young is born. Litter size correlates with climate: where average temperatures are warmer, litters are larger. The aboveground fall and winter populations are composed almost entirely of young squirrels. Females follow as soon as they finish nursing their young, usually in late summer or early fall. Males usually retreat underground in early summer and remain there until the following spring. Adult squirrels are active only a few months of the year. Formerly placed in Spermophilus, as Spermophilus beecheyi, it was reclassified in Otospermophilus in 2009 as it became clear that Spermophilus as previously defined was not a natural (monophyletic) group.Ĭalifornia Ground Squirrels prefer open, well-drained habitat, and are common along roadsides, on farms, especially where grain is grown, and in grassy fields.
The California ground squirrel ( Otospermophilus beecheyi), is a common and easily observed ground squirrel of the western United States and the Baja California peninsula it is common in Oregon and California and its range has relatively recently extended into Washington and northwestern Nevada.
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