identifier	taxonID	type	CVterm	format	language	title	description	additionalInformationURL	UsageTerms	rights	Owner	contributor	creator	bibliographicCitation
03EE87BAFFEA5B06FCE6FDAFFC8BFA21.text	03EE87BAFFEA5B06FCE6FDAFFC8BFA21.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Xerinae Murray	<div><p>Subfamily Xerinae Murray</p> <p>Xeri Murray, 1866, p. 256. Type genus is Xerus (by tautonomy). Emended to Xerini (Kryštufek and Vohralik 2013).</p> <p>Xerinae Osborn, 1910, p. 535. Type genus is Xerus (by tautonomy).</p> <p>Xerini Simpson, 1945, p. 79. Type genus not defined. Simpson evidently changed the rank from Osborn’s (1910) subfamily to a tribe, without altering its scope.</p> <p>In the past, the subfamily Xerinae was usually defined to include the African genera Xerus and Atlantoxerus, and the Asiatic Spermophilopsis (Osborn 1910, Pocock 1923). Steppan et al. (2004) redefined the scope of Xerinae by including also Arctomyinae Grey, 1821 (Marmotinae Pocock, 1923 is a synonym; cf. Kryštufek and Vohralik 2013). A phylogenetic reconstruction of Fabre et al. (2012) retrieved Xerinae to consist of two lineages, which are appropriately classified as tribes (Kryštufek and Vohralik 2013), the Xerini (cf. below) and the Callosciurini Simpson, 1945. The scope of Callosciurini is identical to the content of the subfamily Callosciurinae of Steppan et al. (2004). Close relationships between Xerini and Callosciurini are evident from chromosomal data (O’Shea 1991).</p> </div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03EE87BAFFEA5B06FCE6FDAFFC8BFA21	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Kryštufek, Boris;Mahmoudi, Ahmad;Tesakov, Alexey S.;Matějů, Jan;Hutterer, Rainer	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.text	03EE87BAFFEA5B07FCE6F992FDCCFA48.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Xerini Murray	<div><p>Tribe Xerini Murray: Bristly ground squirrels</p> <p>For synonyms see under Xerinae.</p> <p>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).</p> <p>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 (2n=38).</p> <p>Xerini occupy dry open habitats in the Palaearctic region (central Asia and the area of the Atlas Mts.), and of sub-Saharan Africa (the Sudano-Guinean, Somali-Masai, and Zambezian savannas; Denys 1999). Genera occupy exclusive non-overlapping ranges, except for slight overlap between Xerus and Euxerus in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya (Figure 9). Four genera of total five are monotypical what induced Moore (1959) to speculate that Xerini are in the contracting phase of their evolution.</p> <p>Xerini, as typical ground squirrels, dig underground burrows and do not climb trees; Atlantoxerus seeks shelter among rocks and easily climbs on rock slopes. Spermophilopsis is a habitat specialist, mainly dependent on moving sands. All species are diurnal and do not practice torpor.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>The tribe contains two subtribes: Xerina of Africa and Spermophilopsina of Central Asia.</p> </div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03EE87BAFFEA5B07FCE6F992FDCCFA48	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Kryštufek, Boris;Mahmoudi, Ahmad;Tesakov, Alexey S.;Matějů, Jan;Hutterer, Rainer	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.text	03EE87BAFFEB5B07FF5AFA0DFB89FE31.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Xerina Murray	<div><p>Subtribe Xerina Murray: African bristly ground squirrels</p> <p>For synonyms see under Xerinae.</p> <p>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 (&lt;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).</p> <p>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”.</p> </div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03EE87BAFFEB5B07FF5AFA0DFB89FE31	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Kryštufek, Boris;Mahmoudi, Ahmad;Tesakov, Alexey S.;Matějů, Jan;Hutterer, Rainer	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
03EE87BAFFEB5B07FCC4FDE5FA76FC73.text	03EE87BAFFEB5B07FCC4FDE5FA76FC73.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Xerus Hemprich and Ehrenberg	<div><p>Genus Xerus Hemprich and Ehrenberg: Unstriped ground squirrels</p> <p>Xerus Hemprich and Ehrenberg, 1832, Plate IX. Type species is Sciurus (Xerus) brachyotus Hemprich and Ehrenberg (= Xerus rutilus).</p> <p>Spermosciurus Lesson, 1842, p. 110. Type species is Sciurus rutilus Cretzschmar (cf. below). Spermosciurus was proposed as a subgenus of Sciurus.</p> <p>Content. – A monotypic genus, containing only X. rutilus.</p> </div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03EE87BAFFEB5B07FCC4FDE5FA76FC73	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Kryštufek, Boris;Mahmoudi, Ahmad;Tesakov, Alexey S.;Matějů, Jan;Hutterer, Rainer	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.text	03EE87BAFFEB5B00FCC4FC20FE85FE59.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Xerus rutilus (Cretzschmar 1828)	<div><p>Xerus rutilus (Cretzschmar): Unstriped ground squirrel</p> <p>Sciurus rutilus Cretzschmar, 1828, p. 59, plate 24. Type locality is “eastern slope of Abysinnia”; probably Massawa (cf. Thorington and Hoffmann 2005), today in Eritrea.</p> <p>Amtmann (1975) recognized eight subspecies but also noted that subspecific classification is uncertain.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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).</p> <p>Remark. – Xerus rutilus is reviewed in O’Shea (1991) and Waterman (2013c).</p> </div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03EE87BAFFEB5B00FCC4FC20FE85FE59	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Kryštufek, Boris;Mahmoudi, Ahmad;Tesakov, Alexey S.;Matějů, Jan;Hutterer, Rainer	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.text	03EE87BAFFEC5B00FF74FB72FBB4F95B.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Euxerus erythropus (E. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire 1803)	<div><p>Euxerus erythropus (É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire): Striped ground squirrel</p> <p>Sciurus eyrthoupus (sic) É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1803, p. 178. Type locality: “Inconnue” (=unknown). A specimen from Senegal, acquired by Florent Prévost in November 1820 and deposited in Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris (MNHN-ZM-MO-2000-601), was designated as neotype (Rode 1943). Type locality is therefore (“probably”) Senegal (Allen 1954). The ICZN (1971: 224) ruled erythoupus by Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire to be an incorrect original spelling for erythropus, placed erythoupus on the Official Index of Rejected and Invalid Specific Names in Zoology, and validated the emendation of the specific name erythoupus to erythroupus. Wilson and Reeder (1993) regarded Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (1803) (“a very rare book”; Jentink 1882) as not validly published, what was rebuffed in Corbet and Hill (1994); with reference to Hill 1980).</p> <p>Six subspecies were recognized by Amtmann (1975) and tentatively mapped in Herron and Waterman (2004).</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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).</p> <p>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).</p> <p>Remarks. – Euxerus erythropus is reviewed in Rosevear (1969), and (as Xerus erythropus) in Herron and Waterman (2004) and Waterman (2013b).</p> </div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03EE87BAFFEC5B00FF74FB72FBB4F95B	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Kryštufek, Boris;Mahmoudi, Ahmad;Tesakov, Alexey S.;Matějů, Jan;Hutterer, Rainer	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
03EE87BAFFEC5B00FF74FE1DFECCFB80.text	03EE87BAFFEC5B00FF74FE1DFECCFB80.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Euxerus Thomas 1909	<div><p>Genus Euxerus Thomas: Striped ground squirrels</p> <p>Euxerus Thomas, 1909, p. 473. Type species is Sciurus erythropus E. Geoffroy.</p> <p>Tenotis Rafinesque 1817, p. 362. Type species is Tenotis griseus Rafinesque. Tenotis griseus is listed in Palmer (1904: 668) and Kretzoi and Kretzoi (2000: 403) but ignored in other nomenclatural sources. Rafinesque proposed T. griseus under “ Sciurus erithopus. Geoffr.” (a misprint for erythopus) and defined Tenotis as “contain[ing] all the squirrels with pouches [...] who live under ground”; as such Tenotis does not match Xerini which lack internal pouches. Locality for T. griseus is not known and we propose the name Tenotis as not identifiable (nomen dubium).</p> <p>Content. – A monotypic genus, containing only E. erythropus.</p> </div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03EE87BAFFEC5B00FF74FE1DFECCFB80	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Kryštufek, Boris;Mahmoudi, Ahmad;Tesakov, Alexey S.;Matějů, Jan;Hutterer, Rainer	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
03EE87BAFFEC5B01FCE6F918FD2BFC73.text	03EE87BAFFEC5B01FCE6F918FD2BFC73.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Geosciurus Smith	<div><p>Genus Geosciurus Smith: South African ground squirrels</p> <p>Geosciurus Smith 1834, p. 128. Type species is “ X. capensis ” (synonym of Sciurus inauris Zimmermann), subsequently designated by Thomas (1897, p. 933).</p> <p>Content. – Geosciurus contains two species which differ morphologically (de Graaff 1981, Herzig-Straschil et al. 1991) and in nucleotide sequences (Herron et al. 2005).</p> </div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03EE87BAFFEC5B01FCE6F918FD2BFC73	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Kryštufek, Boris;Mahmoudi, Ahmad;Tesakov, Alexey S.;Matějů, Jan;Hutterer, Rainer	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
03EE87BAFFED5B01FF5AFC20FF3AFA93.text	03EE87BAFFED5B01FF5AFC20FF3AFA93.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Geosciurus inauris (Zimmermann 1780)	<div><p>Geosciurus inauris (Zimmermann): Cape ground squirrel</p> <p>Sciurus inauris Zimmermann 1780, p. 344. Type locality is “Kaffirland, 100 miles north of the Cape of Good Hope” (Skurski and Waterman 2005).</p> <p>A monotypical species which however includes three deeply divergent phylogeographic lineages (Herron et al. 2005).</p></div> 	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03EE87BAFFED5B01FF5AFC20FF3AFA93	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Kryštufek, Boris;Mahmoudi, Ahmad;Tesakov, Alexey S.;Matějů, Jan;Hutterer, Rainer	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.text	03EE87BAFFED5B02FF5AFA40FE36FF2E.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Geosciurus princeps Thomas	<div><p>Geosciurus princeps Thomas: Damara (Kaokoveld) ground squirrel</p> <p>Geosciurus princeps Thomas, 1929, p. 106. Type locality is “ Otjitundua, Central Kaokoveld, Namibia, Africa.”</p> <p>A monotypical species.</p> <p>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).</p> <p>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 3rd upper premolar is absent (Figure 8).</p> <p>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).</p> <p>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 (2013d,e).</p> </div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03EE87BAFFED5B02FF5AFA40FE36FF2E	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Kryštufek, Boris;Mahmoudi, Ahmad;Tesakov, Alexey S.;Matějů, Jan;Hutterer, Rainer	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
03EE87BAFFEE5B02FF74FE96FD3AFD88.text	03EE87BAFFEE5B02FF74FE96FD3AFD88.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Atlantoxerus (Jaeger 1977)	<div><p>Genus Atlantoxerus: Barbary ground squirrels</p> <p>Atlantoxerus Forsyth Major, 1893, p. 189. Type species is “X. getulus (Gesn[er])” (= Sciurus getulus Linnaeus). Atlantoxerus was proposed as a subgenus of Xerus.</p> <p>Scope. – A monotypic genus, containing only A. getulus.</p> </div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03EE87BAFFEE5B02FF74FE96FD3AFD88	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Kryštufek, Boris;Mahmoudi, Ahmad;Tesakov, Alexey S.;Matějů, Jan;Hutterer, Rainer	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.text	03EE87BAFFEE5B02FF74FD76FCB2FCBE.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Atlantoxerus getulus (Linnaeus 1758)	<div><p>Atlantoxerus getulus (Linnaeus): Barbary ground squirrel</p> <p>Sciurus getulus Linnaeus 1758, p. 64. The type locality (“Habitat in Africa” = Lives in Africa) was restricted to “Barbary” (= Mediterranean Africa between Egypt and the Atlantic coast) by Thomas (1911:149), and to “ Agadir ” (Morocco) by Cabrera (1932: 217).On p. 218 Cabrera justified this step as follows (our translation from Spanish): “(1) Imports of animals and other goods from Morocco in the 17 th and 19 th century came mostly from the port “Santa Cruz de Berberia”, the current name of which is Agadir. Examples are squirrels figured in the painting “Arche Noah” by the Dutch artist P. Breughel [actually Jan Breughel the Elder, 1568–1625], now in the Prado in Madrid [Prado holds one of the later versions while the original is in the J. Paul Getty Museum; Kolb 2005], and in the book by Gessner from 1551. The picture in Gessner subsequently inspired Ray (1693, Synops. Method. Anim. Quadrup., p. 216) to discuss this squirrel. (2) Linnaeus based his name on the reports of Ray (as above), and of Edwards 1751 (A natural history of birds, vol. 4, plate 198), who reported and figured a squirrel from “Santa Cruz (on the Western Coast of Barbary, bordering on the Atlantic Ocean)”. The specimen figured in Gessner (1551), argues Cabrera, should be regarded as the type of the species.</p> <p>No subspecies are recognized.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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).</p> <p>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.</p> <p>Remarks. – Atlantoxerus getulus is reviewed in Aulagnier (2013).</p> </div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03EE87BAFFEE5B02FF74FD76FCB2FCBE	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Kryštufek, Boris;Mahmoudi, Ahmad;Tesakov, Alexey S.;Matějů, Jan;Hutterer, Rainer	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
03EE87BAFFEE5B02FCE6FC49FB7CFB90.text	03EE87BAFFEE5B02FCE6FC49FB7CFB90.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Spermophilopsina Ognev	<div><p>Subtribe Spermophilopsina Ognev: Long-clawed ground squirrels</p> <p>Spermophilopsinae Ognev 1940, p. 432. Type genus is Spermophilopsis (by tautonomy).</p> </div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03EE87BAFFEE5B02FCE6FC49FB7CFB90	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Kryštufek, Boris;Mahmoudi, Ahmad;Tesakov, Alexey S.;Matějů, Jan;Hutterer, Rainer	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
03EE87BAFFEE5B02FCE6FB44FBBAFA58.text	03EE87BAFFEE5B02FCE6FB44FBBAFA58.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Spermophilopsis Blasius 1884	<div><p>Genus Spermophilopsis Blasius: Long-clawed ground squirrels</p> <p>Spermophilopsis Blasius, 1884, p. 325. Type species: Arctomys leptodactylus Lichtenstein, 1823.</p> <p>Content. – A monotypic genus.</p></div> 	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03EE87BAFFEE5B02FCE6FB44FBBAFA58	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Kryštufek, Boris;Mahmoudi, Ahmad;Tesakov, Alexey S.;Matějů, Jan;Hutterer, Rainer	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.text	03EE87BAFFEE5B03FCE6FA6FFE09FA48.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Spermophilopsis leptodactylus (Lichtenstein 1823)	<div><p>Spermophilopsis leptodactylus (Lichtenstein): Long-clawed ground squirrel</p> <p>Arctomys leptodactylus Lichtenstein, 1823, p. 119. Type locality is “140 Werst diesseits Buchara”, interpreted as “vicinity of Kara-Ata, 140 km north-west from Buchara, Uzbekistan ” (Ognev 1940: 452). Thorington et al. (2012: 202) erroneously fixed the type locality to “ Dagestan, Russia ”.</p> <p>Gromov and Erbajeva (1995) recognized three subspecies which differ in size and color.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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 (&gt; 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).</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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).</p> </div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03EE87BAFFEE5B03FCE6FA6FFE09FA48	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Kryštufek, Boris;Mahmoudi, Ahmad;Tesakov, Alexey S.;Matějů, Jan;Hutterer, Rainer	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
