taxonID	type	description	language	source
03EE87BAFFEA5B07FCE6F992FDCCFA48.taxon	description	Ground squirrels with coarse, bristly or spiny fur during at least one season; hair is usually scanty; the feet is elongate and slender, the 3 rd digit longer than 4 th (Figure 4); the claws are long and comparatively straight (fossorial); pinna minute or reduced to a stiffened skin fold, antitragal thickening set near the middle of the posterior edge of pinnae; membranous cheek-pouches are missing. Xerini have supplementary superciliary vibrissae and the antebrachial vibrissae (Figure 4). The baculum consists of a compressed blade which carries a cartilaginous or partly ossified crest. Number of nipples is two to four pairs (Figure 5). Skull (Figure 7) is typically with (i) the bony palate considerably prolonged beyond the ends of the tooth-row, (ii) enlarged lacrimal bone, (iii) well developed and anteriorly projected external ridge on the front face of the zygomatic plate, (iv) the squamosal bone extending up to the base of postorbital process of the frontal bone, (v) a powerful masseteric tubercle, (vi) a short and massive pterygoid processes, and (vii) the opisthodont upper incisors (Flower and Lydekker 1891, Pocock 1922, Ellerman 1940, Ognev 1940, Moore 1959). The karyotype is conservative (2 n = 38).	en	Kryštufek, Boris, Mahmoudi, Ahmad, Tesakov, Alexey S., Matějů, Jan, Hutterer, Rainer (2016): A review of bristly ground squirrels Xerini and a generic revision in the African genus Xerus. Mammalia (Warsaw, Poland) 80 (5): 521-540, DOI: 10.1515/mammalia-2015-0073, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/mammalia-2015-0073
03EE87BAFFEA5B07FCE6F992FDCCFA48.taxon	description	No common name is in use for the African and the Asiatic Xerini combined. We propose “ bristly ground squirrels ”, a name capturing an evident character in common to these animals. The tribe contains two subtribes: Xerina of Africa and Spermophilopsina of Central Asia.	en	Kryštufek, Boris, Mahmoudi, Ahmad, Tesakov, Alexey S., Matějů, Jan, Hutterer, Rainer (2016): A review of bristly ground squirrels Xerini and a generic revision in the African genus Xerus. Mammalia (Warsaw, Poland) 80 (5): 521-540, DOI: 10.1515/mammalia-2015-0073, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/mammalia-2015-0073
03EE87BAFFEB5B07FF5AFA0DFB89FE31.taxon	description	Subtribe Xerina includes African members of the tribe Xerini, with long tail and a pelage which is bristly (rough in Atlantoxerus) at all seasons; a bold light (whitish) ring is surrounding the eye, and three genera of totally four have flank stripes (Figure 2). Soles and plants are nude (Figure 4); the pollex bears a tiny nail, claws on the remaining digits are not enlarged (<10 mm in length); two tufts of supraorbital vibrissae are present; the cerebral dura mater has no melanocits; the external meatus acusticus lacks a bony tube (except in Geosciurus); buccinator and masticatory foramina are separate (Figure 7). Few common names were in use in the past for Xerina: “ spiny (or bristly) squirrels ” (Murray 1866, Flower and Lyddeker 189, Osborn 1910) and “ African ground squirrels ” (Pocock 1922, Simpson 1945, Li et al. 2006). Pocock (1922) was perhaps the first who used the combination “ bristly ground squirrels ”.	en	Kryštufek, Boris, Mahmoudi, Ahmad, Tesakov, Alexey S., Matějů, Jan, Hutterer, Rainer (2016): A review of bristly ground squirrels Xerini and a generic revision in the African genus Xerus. Mammalia (Warsaw, Poland) 80 (5): 521-540, DOI: 10.1515/mammalia-2015-0073, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/mammalia-2015-0073
03EE87BAFFEB5B00FCC4FC20FE85FE59.taxon	etymology	Etymology. – Xerus is Greek for “ dry ”; “ called from the character of the fur, which is harsh and often spiny ” (Palmer 1904). Species name rutilus is Latin for “ red ” or “ golden red ” in allusion to the colouration of the pelage. Diagnosis. – Xerus rutilus is a medium-sized member of the subtribe Xerina and the only one with a plain, unstriped pelage (Figure 2). The ears are moderately large, with the tragus present. Metatarsal pads are absent (Pocock 1922). Females have posterior abdominal and the inguinal pairs of nipples (four nipples totally). The baculum (length = 6 mm) is typified by a wide and spearhead-shaped upper surface of the blade and a low dorsal median crest (Pocock 1923). Skull is moderately wide (Figure 6) and the 3 rd upper premolar is absent (Figure 8); the jugal bone is bluntly truncated against the lacrimal. Distribution. – Endemic to a Somali-Masai savannah (Denys 1999), occupying dry bushland and savannah in Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Tanzania and eastern Uganda (O’Shea 1991) (Figure 9). A century ago reported for Sinkat (Anderson 1902) in what is today Sudan, but current presence in Sudan questioned by O’Shea (1991). Remark. – Xerus rutilus is reviewed in O’Shea (1991) and Waterman (2013 c).	en	Kryštufek, Boris, Mahmoudi, Ahmad, Tesakov, Alexey S., Matějů, Jan, Hutterer, Rainer (2016): A review of bristly ground squirrels Xerini and a generic revision in the African genus Xerus. Mammalia (Warsaw, Poland) 80 (5): 521-540, DOI: 10.1515/mammalia-2015-0073, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/mammalia-2015-0073
03EE87BAFFEC5B00FF74FB72FBB4F95B.taxon	etymology	Etymology. – “ Eu ” is Greek for “ typical ” + Xerus; i. e. “ a typical bristly ground squirrel ”. The species name erythropus is from “ eruthros ” (red) and “ pous ” (a foot, both Greek), i. e. “ a red-footed ”, although “ there is nothing to indicate why Geoffroy should have chosen the name ... as it is [red-footed] in fact not one which has any particular application to any known form [of E. erythropus] ” (Rosevear 1969: 132); note the above claim by Hollister (1919) who stated that feet and other parts of body are often stained with the soil what changes the color. Diagnosis. – Euxerus erythropus is a large member of the subtribe Xerina, recognizable by a combination of flank stripe (Figure 2), narrow skull (Figure 6), and a high incidence of the 3 rd upper premolar (present in ~ 80 % of individuals; Figure 8). The ears are moderately large, with tragus present. Metatarsal pads are absent and plantar pads are more reduced in size than in any other African species (Pocock 1922). Females have two (Figure 5) or three pairs of nipples (mean = 2.71 ± 0.469, n = 14). The baculum (length = 8 – 9 mm) consists of a cylindrical proximal part and distal compressed blade; the dorsal crest ossifies only partly (Pocock 1923). The Y chromosome is acrocentric (biarmed in the remaining Xerini). The jugal bone is bluntly truncated against the lacrimal (i. e. without a short wedge-like extension between the lacrimal and maxillary; Figure 10). Distribution. – Endemic to the Sudano-Guinean savannah (Denys 1999). E. erythropus is a habitat generalist (Rosevear 1969) occupying a wide subtropical and tropical belt between the equator and the transition of the Sahelian zone and Sahara (Granjon and Duplantier 2009, Monadjem et al. 2015). Range extends from the Atlantic coast in the west to Eritrea, western Ethiopia and north-western Kenya in the east (Figure 10). There is an isolate in the Souss region in western Morocco (Blanc and Petter 1959). Remnants of the Neolithic age from Bir Kiseiba in southern Egypt (Osborn and Osbnornová 1998) are another evidence of a wider occurrence in Palaearctic Africa during the Holocene. The 19 th century records for Egypt (Jansen 1882) and “ Nubia ” (Supplemental Appendix 2) however most probably refer to what is now Sudan (cf. Anderson 1902). Remarks. – Euxerus erythropus is reviewed in Rosevear (1969), and (as Xerus erythropus) in Herron and Waterman (2004) and Waterman (2013 b).	en	Kryštufek, Boris, Mahmoudi, Ahmad, Tesakov, Alexey S., Matějů, Jan, Hutterer, Rainer (2016): A review of bristly ground squirrels Xerini and a generic revision in the African genus Xerus. Mammalia (Warsaw, Poland) 80 (5): 521-540, DOI: 10.1515/mammalia-2015-0073, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/mammalia-2015-0073
03EE87BAFFED5B02FF5AFA40FE36FF2E.taxon	etymology	Etymology. – The name Geosciurus is derived from “ geos ” (Greek for earth) + Sciurus (Greek for a squirrel, from “ skia ” for “ shade ” + “ oura ” for “ tail ” (both Greek), i. e. “ a shadetail ” “ on account of the way a squirrel holds his bushy tail over his back ” (Gotch 1995); Geosciurus is therefore “ a ground squirrel ” (allusion on its habits). The species name inauris consists of “ in ” (not, without) + “ auris ” (ear; both Latin) in allusion “ to the very small ear pinnae of the species ” (de Graaff 1981). The name princeps (Latin for “ first ” or “ primary ”) “ may refer to the larger than average size, brighter coloration and more profusely ringed tail of this species in contrast to the somewhat smaller, drabber inauris. ” (de Graaff 1981). Diagnosis. – More fossorial than other African bristly ground squirrel. Size is large, fur is bristly; flanks with a stripe (Figure 2); hind foot robust, metatarsal pads absent; the ear extremely reduced to a rounded thickened rim, tragus absent; two pairs of nipples (posterior abdominal and the inguinal). Baculum (length is 8 mm in G. inauris) consists of long proximal cylindrical portion and elongated distal part; the upper surface of the blade is narrow and strongly constricted; dorsal crest is long (Pocock 1923). Skull is broad and deep, with a short rostrum and elongate braincase (Figure 6); jugal bone is bluntly truncated against the lacrimal. Cheek-teeth are relatively hypsodont; the 3 rd upper premolar is absent (Figure 8). Distribution. – The genus Geosciurus is endemic to Zambezian savannah (Denys 1999; Figure 9); G. inauris occupy open savannahs in Botswana, Republic of South Africa, and Namibia (Herzig-Straschil 1979) but possibly disappeared during the last century from Zimbabwe (Skurski and Waterman 2005). G. princeps is restricted to the western escarpment in Namibia and very marginally occurs in Republic of South Africa and Angola. Although ranges of the two species overlap, they select different habitats and segregate in behavior (Herzig-Straschil and Herzig 1989). Remarks. – Both species of Geoscirus are well covered (as Xerus) in general faunal reviews of the mammals occupying the southern African subregion (de Graaff 1981, Skinner and Chimimba 2005). For other reviews see Skurski and Waterman (2005), Waterman and Herron (2004) and Waterman (2013 d, e).	en	Kryštufek, Boris, Mahmoudi, Ahmad, Tesakov, Alexey S., Matějů, Jan, Hutterer, Rainer (2016): A review of bristly ground squirrels Xerini and a generic revision in the African genus Xerus. Mammalia (Warsaw, Poland) 80 (5): 521-540, DOI: 10.1515/mammalia-2015-0073, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/mammalia-2015-0073
03EE87BAFFEE5B02FF74FD76FCB2FCBE.taxon	etymology	Etymology. – The name Atlantoxerus was coined from Greek “ Atlas ” or “ Atlantos ” (= the Atlas Mts. in Morocco) + “ Xerus ” (dry in Greek) in allusion to the arid habitat. The species name is derived from Gaetulia (Romanized for a Berber Getulia), an ancient district in Northern Africa around the Atlas Mts. Diagnosis. – The smallest species of Xerini, and the only one having a light spinal stripe (Figure 2), present metatarsal pads, a paired interparietal bone (Figure 7), upper incisor with traces of a groove, and brachiodont and bunodont cheek-teeth. Among the African Xerina, Atlantoxerus is unique in having rough, but not bristly (spiny) fur, four pairs of nipples, exposed orifice which is not sheltered by a tragus, in retaining the parieto-interparietal suture (Figure 7), and in having a short wedge-like extension of the jugal bone between the lacrimal and maxillary (Figure 10). Baculum (length = 7 mm) has a long proximal portion and simple blade which is asymmetrical in dorsal view and has a medial crest (Pocock 1923). The 3 rd upper premolar is present (Figure 8). Distribution. – Endemic to north-western Africa (Figure 9) in Morocco and present very marginally also in western Algeria (Aulagnier and Thevenot 1986, Kowalski and Rzebik-Kowalska 1991). In 1966 – 1970 introduced to Fuerteventura, the Canary Islands (Bertolino 2009). Prefers open rocky habitats. Remarks. – Atlantoxerus getulus is reviewed in Aulagnier (2013).	en	Kryštufek, Boris, Mahmoudi, Ahmad, Tesakov, Alexey S., Matějů, Jan, Hutterer, Rainer (2016): A review of bristly ground squirrels Xerini and a generic revision in the African genus Xerus. Mammalia (Warsaw, Poland) 80 (5): 521-540, DOI: 10.1515/mammalia-2015-0073, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/mammalia-2015-0073
03EE87BAFFEE5B03FCE6FA6FFE09FA48.taxon	etymology	Etymology. – “ Spermophilus ” (a genus of ground squirrels) from “ sperma ” (seed) and “ phylos ” (loving; both Greek) in allusion to the animal’s principal food + “ opis ” (Greek) “ of appearance ”; i. e. “ of same appearance as ground squirrel ”. The species name is from “ leptos ” (slender) + “ dactylos ” (finger, both Greek), on allusion on slender fingers bearing excessively long claws. Diagnosis. – A large and short-tailed bristly ground squirrel with a seasonally dimorphic pelage (bristly and sparse in summer, long, dense and silky in winter); dorsal color is plain, with no stripes (Figure 3). The external ear is extremely reduced to a rounded thickened rim, the tragus and the antitragus however are present. Soles and plants are densely clothed with hair; the pollex is clawed; claws on the remaining digits are heavily thickened and enlarged (> 10 mm in length) (Figure 4); 1 tuft of supraorbital vibrissae. Melanocits are present in the cerebral dura mater (Sokolov 1963). Skull is wide and deep, with short braincase (Figure 6); external meatus acusticus has a bony tube; the parieto-interparietal suture is retained in adults; jugal bone has a short wedge-like extension between the lacrimal and maxillary (Figure 10); buccinator and masticatory foramina fused. Cheek-teeth are strongly hypsodont; the 3 rd upper premolar is present (Figure 8). Distribution. – The long-clawed ground squirrel is restricted to sandy deserts (“ peski ” in Russian) of Central Asia, from the Caspian Sea in the west to Lake Balkash in the east, and from the Sea of Aral in the north to northern Afghanistan in the south (Figure 9). The majority of distributional area is in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and southern Kazakhstan. Remarks. – Abundant information on various biological issues of Spermophilopsis leptodactylus exists in Russian (Sludskiy et al. 1969, Komarova 1980, Zubov and Svidenko 2005) which however is unknown to the English speaking community (cf. Thorington et al. 2012). For general review in English see Ognev (1966) and for a study of the ecology (in French) see RuŽić (1967).	en	Kryštufek, Boris, Mahmoudi, Ahmad, Tesakov, Alexey S., Matějů, Jan, Hutterer, Rainer (2016): A review of bristly ground squirrels Xerini and a generic revision in the African genus Xerus. Mammalia (Warsaw, Poland) 80 (5): 521-540, DOI: 10.1515/mammalia-2015-0073, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/mammalia-2015-0073
