Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Chipmunks are classified as four genera: Tamias, of which the eastern chipmunk (T. striatus) is the only living member; Eutamias, of which the Siberian chipmunk (E. sibiricus) is the only living member; Nototamias, which consists of three extinct species, and Neotamias, which includes the 23 remaining, mostly western North American, species.
It has two fewer teeth than other chipmunks and four toes each on the front legs, but five toes on the hind legs. [16] The chipmunk's appearance "remains consistent throughout life. There is no external difference in appearance between the sexes except the obvious anatomical characteristics of the genitalia during periods of fertility.
Even though the Siberian chipmunk normally grows to 50–150 g (1.8–5.3 oz). [3] [5] The Siberian chipmunk does not exhibit sexual dimorphism, and size and body proportions are the only way to distinguish younger chipmunks from older ones. [4] Its small size may contribute to its relatively short life from two to five years in the wild.
The Lodgepole chipmunk is an omnivore, feeding on both animal (mammals, birds, bird eggs, small invertebrates arthropods, and insects) and plant matter (leaves, flowers, pollen, fungi, and seeds). [3] Like most rodents, this chipmunk engages in the foraging behavior of caching and storing food in order to survive the long winter hibernation.
Least chipmunks are found through most of the western United States from northern New Mexico and western North and South Dakota to eastern California, Oregon and Washington, and throughout much of southern and western Canada from Yukon and southeastern British Columbia [7] to central Ontario, and into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and neighboring parts of Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Caged Tamias chipmunk, Tokyo area. The genus Tamias was formerly divided into three subgenera that, in sum, included all chipmunk species: Tamias, the eastern chipmunk and other fossil species; Eutamias, of which the Siberian chipmunk (E. sibiricus) is the only living member; and Neotamias, which includes the 23 remaining, mostly western ...
Allen's chipmunk is a primarily arboreal species, inhabiting coniferous forests and their dense shrubbery, as well as areas of adjacent chaparral. [ 4 ] [ 5 ] It has been observed as the only chipmunk species to have a preference for old-growth, closed-canopy forests.
The gray-collared chipmunk grows to a total length of about 225 mm (9 in) including a tail of around 98 mm (4 in). The forehead is greyish-brown and the side of the head bears three dark stripes, the central one of which passes through the eye. These are separated by bands of white. The cheeks, neck, shoulders, upper back, and rump are grey.