Merriam's ground squirrel
species of mammal
Merriam's ground squirrel (Urocitellus canus) is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It occurs in the western United States in Idaho, Nevada, and Oregon.
Description
Merriam's ground squirrel is a small, grey, ground squirrel with a relatively nondescript appearance. Adults range from 18.8 to 21.8 centimetres (7.4 to 8.6 in) in head-body length, with a 3.1 to 5.0 centimetres (1.2 to 2.0 in) tail. Although their weight varies throughout the year, depending on nutrition, typical adult weights of 144 to 210 grams (5.1 to 7.4 oz) have been recorded for females, and 146 to 300 grams (5.1 to 10.6 oz) for males.
The fur is short and lacks any distinctive markings such as stripes or spots. It is greyish buff over most of the body, and pale buff to white on the underparts. The tail is relatively short and narrow compared with most other related ground squirrels, and the ears are small. However, it can only be reliably distinguished from Townsend's ground squirrel and the Piute ground squirrel by genetic testing, and, for a long time, these species were not considered to be separate.
Distribution and habitat
The species is found throughout much of Oregon, although not in the northern and western regions of the state.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Merriam's ground squirrel” as species of mammal. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as species of mammal. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Oct 2, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q21730459. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Merriam's ground squirrel” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.