Tamias sibiricus

T. sibiricus is a small striped squirrel, weighing about 100 g (adults). It does not show sexual dimorphism. Young and adults are not distinguishable except by their size and proportions. Measurements (adults): In Russia (A. Lissovsky, Zoological Museum of Moscow University, Moscow, Russia, unpublished): body weight: 89.2 ± 2.1 g (range: 74Ð123, n =29), head and body length: 142.4 ± 2.0 mm (range: 124Ð168, n =28), tail length: 106.7 ± 1.5 mm (range: 90Ð133, n =30), hind foot: 33.6 ± 0.4 mm (range: 29Ð38, n =30), ear: 14 ± 0.5 mm (range: 9-19, n =30), condylobasal length of skulls from different parts of the range: 35 ± 0.05 mm (range: 32Ð39, n =381), zygomatic breadth: 21.9 ± 0.04 mm (range: 19Ð24, n =371). In France (B. Pisanu, MusŽum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France, unpublished): full body mass: 100 ± 1 g (range: 89 Ð 115, n = 33), head and body length: 149 ± 1 mm (range: 137 Ð 163, n = 28), tail length: 109 ±2 mm (range: 84 Ð 125, n = 24), hind foot: 36.4 ± 0.3 mm (range: 33.0 Ð 41.0, n = 28), ear: 16.3 ± 0.2 mm (range: 14.0 Ð 18.5, n = 26). Coat: T. sibiricus is a small squirrel-like animal with general sandy-rufous pelage coloration and a long bushy brown-grey tail, with a central and two pairs of lateral black stripes. The back from the back of the head to the rump is covered by five dark longitudinal stripes separated by lighter zones of the same width. Pelage coloration displays geographic variation;In central China the upper part of the head is greyish-brown with a slightly undulating pattern. The dark dorsal stripes are deep-brown with solitary light hairs. The central pair of light dorsal stripes is sandy-grey. The lateral pair of light dorsal stripes is light ash-grey. The medial part of the rump is rufous with a red tint.;In the Korean peninsula the upper part of the head is rufous-brown. The dark dorsal stripes are very contrasting, being deep brown, nearly black. The central pair of light dorsal stripes is rufous-fiery red. The lateral pair of light dorsal stripes is ochraceous-sandy. The rump is very bright, rufous-fiery red. The rufous color of the rump reaches the middle of the back in some specimens.;In the northern part of the range the upper part of the head is greyish-brown, fulvous-brown or rufous. The dark dorsal stripes are sharp black. The central pair of light dorsal stripes is sandy. The lateral pair of light dorsal stripes is sandy-grey. Southeastern populations have light dorsal stripes from ochraceous to red. Differences between the coloration of the central and lateral light dorsal stripes are weak. The medial part of the rump is brown, ochraceous-red or ochraceous (Obolenskaya et al., 2009).;Distribution;Top of page;The native range of T. sibiricus covers a vast territory from the northern parts of European Russia to the shore of the Sea of Okhotsk and from northern Yakutia to central China. A detailed description of the native range was published by Obolenskaya (2008). This publication includes the analysis of the distribution of this taxon, mainly based on localities recovered from available museum referenced specimens. The most western region where T. sibiricus is known to occur is the basin of the Severnaya Dvina. Occurrences in Karelia and Finland are not supported by museum collection information. In the eastward and southward directions, the border of the chipmunkÕs range in Europe follows the range of the southern taiga and does not cross the Volga. The northern border of its range coincides with the northern border of the taiga. T. sibiricus can also live in the forest-tundra zone but only along shrubby river valleys. It only inhabits the southern part of the Putorana Plateau and is not present north of 69¡ N. In the north-eastern part of the Far East, it inhabits mountain regions covered with Pinus pumila and is absent from the Chukotskiy Peninsula and Kamchatka. It lives along all the continental coast of the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan. It inhabits Shantar Island, Sakhalin Island, Kunashir Island and Hokkaido Island. Further southward, it lives in broad-leaved and mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forests across the Korean peninsula and the Chinese provinces of Nei Menggu, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin, Henan, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai and Sichuan. From Nei Menggu to the Altai Mountains, its range extends along the southern border of the taiga, including forested parts of Transbaikalia, Hentiyn Nuruu, Hangayn Nuruu and the Mongolian Altai Mountains along with part of the Chinese province of Xinjiang. Its range penetrates into the steppes along shrubby river valleys. West from the Altai, the southern border of the range goes along the southern limit of forested areas. It crosses the Novosibirsk, Omsk and Tyumen regions of Russia and reaches the southern Urals in the region of the Belaya River.