| Notocitellus | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota | 
| Kingdom: | Animalia | 
| Phylum: | Chordata | 
| Class: | Mammalia | 
| Order: | Rodentia | 
| Family: | Sciuridae | 
| Tribe: | Marmotini | 
| Genus: | Notocitellus A. H. Howell, 1938  | 
| Species | |
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| Distribution of the Notocitellus ground squirrels | |
Notocitellus is a genus of ground squirrels, containing two species from Mexico. These species are the tropical ground squirrel (Notocitellus adocetus), and the ring-tailed ground squirrel (N. annulatus). Notocitellus was formerly placed in the large ground squirrel genus Spermophilus, as a subgenus or species group. Since DNA sequencing of the cytochrome b gene has shown Spermophilus to be paraphyletic to the marmots, antelope squirrels, and prairie dogs,[1] it is now separated, along with six other genera.[2] The exact relations of this genus are unclear, though a relation to the antelope squirrels is possible.[2]
References
- ↑ Herron, Matthew D.; Castoe, Todd A.; Parkinson, Christopher L. (2004). "Sciurid phylogeny and the paraphyly of Holarctic ground squirrels (Spermophilus)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 31 (3): 1015–30. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2003.09.015. PMID 15120398.
 - 1 2 Helgen, Kristofer M.; Cole, F. Russel; Helgen, Lauren E. & Wilson, Don E (2009). "Generic Revision in the Holarctic Ground Squirrel Genus Spermophilus" (PDF). Journal of Mammalogy. 90 (2): 270–305. doi:10.1644/07-MAMM-A-309.1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 April 2012.
 
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