Spermophilus variegatus, rock squirrel


Description

Body thick, clumsy; about the size of Sciurus cinereus; vertebrae of tail about three-fifths of length of the body. Ears broad and high. Palms and soles entirely smooth. The anterior half of the body, above and on the sides, is of a rather pure black and white mixed, the subterminal portion being grayish white; the basal and terminal black. The basal fur above is black, laterally it is of a bluish ash. On the posterior half of the body the white is replaced by pale yellowish brown, and the black by a dark brown. On the sides the colors are purer, the hairs becoming lighter at the base in passing down the sides and to the root of the tail. The under parts are of a pale fulvous white, changing into pale brownish yellow anteriorly, posteriorly, and on the inner faces of the limbs, the hairs being everywhere brown at the base, except on the last mentioned region. The top and sides of the head are grayish white and black, mixed, the latter predominating. The eyelids are white; the exterior surface of the ear is brownish yellow, as is the posterior border of the inner surface; the remainder is dark brown. The tail is white and black, the former predominating and constituting rather a broad border all around; there are three distinct rings of black, the outer and sub-terminal one broadest. in some specimens the white appears more or less soiled. Body about 12 inches; tail with hairs 9; hind feet 2.25.


Image Source - http://www.arizonensis.org/images/vertibrata/rocksquirrel.jpg

Habits

Rock squirrels nearly always live in rocky situations, such as the ledges an dboulder-strewn sides of canyons, the bare rocky slopes along tghe base of the foothills, and the rim rock of outlying mesas and buttes being especially frequented. Rock squirrels are quite shy and warwy, and when one is surprised in the bottom of a canyon, as is often the case, it invariably runs up the slope and takes refuge among the rocks above. If the observer remains perfectly quiet, he may at length detect the animal peering sliently over the top of a large boulder, but it generally vanishes at the slightest noise or motion. I watched one of these squirrels dusting itself near Bayfield. Apparently it was unaware of my presence and at intervals would run to a dusty spot in a path, throw the dust up with its fore feet, turn on its back, and wriggle and squirm along the ground in the greatest enjoyment. This performance was repeated a number of times, when suddenly the little fellow spied me and raced off through the brush. The food of rock squirrels consists chiefly of pinyon nuts, acorns, and juniper berries, and consequently over much of their range the animals do little damage.

Barnes, Claude T. Mammals of Utah, Pgs 50-51, Bulletin of the University of Utah Inland Printing Company, Kaysville, Utah