Tamias ruficaudus

174. Red-tailed Chipmunk Tamias ruficaudus French: Tamia a queue rousse / German: Rotschwanz-Backenhérnchen / Spanish: Ardilla listada de cola roja Taxonomy. Eutamias ruficaudus A. H. Howell, 1920, “Upper St. Mary’s Lake, [Glacier County] Montana,” USA. Two subspecies are recognized. Subspecies and Distribution. T" r ruficaudus A. H. Howell, 1920 — SE British Columbia and extreme SW of Al- berta (Canada), NE Idaho and W Mon- tana (USA). T. r. simulans A. H. Howell, 1922 — SE Brit- ish Columbia (Canada), E Washington and N Idaho (USA). Descriptive notes. Head-body 121-8-127-2 mm, tail 98:3-109-1 mm; weight 57-1-67-3 g. The Red-tailed Chipmunk has an overall orangish dorsum, with five dark stripes that vary from black to brownish, offset by four light stripes that vary from gray to yellowish brown. Ventral pelage is white to cream, and ventral side oftail is reddish with black and pink borders. It can be distinguished from the Yellow-pine Chipmunk (1. amoenus) and the Least Chipmunk (7. minimus) by its larger size and byits characteristic reddish tail. Nominate ruficaudus has a longer baculum, and simulans has paler sides and ventral side of tail. Chromosome number of the Red-tailed Chipmunk is 2n = 38. Karyotype is type B for Tamias and consists offive pairs of metacentric autosomes, six pairs of submetacentric autosomes, seven pairs of acrocentric autosomes, a submetacentric X chromosome, and an acrocentric Y chromosome. Habitat. Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa; Pinaceae) forests, mesic riparian stands, and subalpine stands, at elevations of ¢.720-2400 m. The Red-tailed Chipmunk is usually associated with thick vegetation or ground cover, such as woody debris and snags. Food and Feeding. Diet of the Red-tailed Chipmunk consists of a large variety of seeds and fruits and varies according to habitat occupied. It is known to scatterhoard food, but appears to act mostly as a larderhoarder. Breeding. Breeding season occurs from late April to mid-May in lower elevations, and from early to late May at higher elevations. Females produce one litter per year, and each year 50-73% of the females reproduce. Females in lower elevations have higher probability of successful reproduction and tend to produce larger litters, as do older females (older than 16 months). Only 18-29% of yearling females reproduce. Average litter size is 2:5-5-2 young, which are born after gestation of c.31 days. Young emerge from nest at 39-45 days,in earlyJuly in lower elevations and in late July in higher areas. Activity patterns. The Red-tailed Chipmunk is terrestrial and diurnal, but active above ground only between April and October. Nest is constructed from grass and lichens within burrows located under rocks, logs, or stumps. Some nests have been found in trees or shrubs. Movements, Home range and Social organization. There is no information available for this species. Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The current population trend is stable. The Red-tailed Chipmunk is at potential risk in Alberta and British Columbia (Canada), due to the small amount of suitable habitat at that latitude, and lack of knowledge aboutits biology. Because it is restricted to a small geographic area, large scale environmental changes within this area could have an impact. Bibliography. Bennett (1999b), Best (1993d), Good & Sullivan (2001), Good, Demboski et al. (2003), Good, Hird et al. (2008), Hird & Sullivan (2009), Linzey & NatureServe (Hammerson) (2008aa), Nagorsen et al. (1999), Patterson & Heaney (1987), Pearson et al. (2003), Thorington et al. (2012).

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