Otospermophilus

Otospermophilus is a genus of ground squirrels in the family Sciuridae, containing three species from Mexico and the United States. Otospermophilus 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 prairie dogs and marmots,^[2] it is now separated, along with six other genera.^[3]

Otospermophilus
Rock squirrel at the Grand Canyon
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Sciuridae
Tribe:	Marmotini
Genus:	Otospermophilus Brandt, 1844
Type species
Sciurus grammurus[1] Say, 1823 (= Sciurus variegatus Erxleben, 1777)
Species
O. atricapillus O. beecheyi O. variegetus

Species

The three species in Otospermophilus are listed below. These are the same species that were previously grouped in the subgenus Otospermophilus.^[3]

• Baja California rock squirrel, Otospermophilus atricapillus
• California ground squirrel, Otospermophilus beecheyi
• Rock squirrel, Otospermophilus variegatus