Perception Channels: tactile ; chemical
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
Like other ground squirrels, Spermophilus armatus are destructive to crops, eating vegetables and harvesting seeds. Their winter stores of food consist almost entirely of seeds, including a significant amount dug up from farmers' plantings.
(Nowak et al. 1987)
Spermophilus armatus eat seeds, green vegetation, invertebrates and some vertebrates. They are often found near water, as they prefer succulent plants. They are strong swimmers and swim to retrieve species of aquatic plants. Uinta ground squirrels collect food for their periods of hibernation, during which they rely mostly on seeds stockpiled in their burrows.
(Whitaker 1996, Nowak et al. 1987)
Spermophilus armatus are found only in a small area of the United States. Their range includes southwestern Montana, western Wyoming, southeastern Idaho and northern central Utah.
(Whitaker 1996)
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native )
Spermophilus armatus are found in the sagegrass mountain meadows of the western United States. Here they burrow in the soft soils. They can be found near timberline, in valley pastures, cultivated fields or along irrigation ditches. They are also sometimes found in lawns. They prefer moist habitats with lush vegetation and/or aquatic plants.
(Whitaker 1996, MacClintock 1970)
Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland
Spermophilus armatus are fairly large ground squirrels with a body length of 280-303 mm and tail length 63 to 81 mm. Skull length is 46 to 48 mm. The Uinta ground squirrels, as they are commonly named, have mixed, brown-buff colored coats. Their sides are slightly paler and their underbellies are pale buff to white. Their tails are black mixed with buff on top and bottom, with paler buff colored edges. The noses, ears and faces are more cinnamon colored. The ears are small and rounded with short fur.
(Whitaker 1996, Hall 1981)
Range mass: 284 to 425 g.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry
The breeding season begins immediately after the end of hibernation in March or April. During this season males attract females with calls and scent markings. Scents are laid down by wiping their faces, which have aprocrine scent glands, against the ground. Breeding is also in part dependent on the social rank of individuals within the colony.
Females give birth to one litter per year usually sometime in May. Gestation length is 28 days. Young first emerge from burrow, 24 days after birth. After this female parental investment is minimal. First-year females bear, on average, 4 to 5 yong per litter, whereas older mothers bear 7 to 8 on average.
(Whitaker 1996, Balph 1984)
Key Reproductive Features: gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual
