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Neotamias ruficaudus

(A.H. Howell, 1920)

Red-tailed Chipmunk

G4Apparently Secure (G4G5) Found in 8 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G4Apparently SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.105876
Element CodeAMAFB02130
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassMammalia
OrderRodentia
FamilySciuridae
GenusNeotamias
Synonyms
Eutamias ruficaudusTamias ruficaudus(A.H. Howell, 1920)
Other Common Names
red-tailed chipmunk (EN) Tamia à queue rousse (FR)
Concept Reference
Wilson, D. E., and D. M. Reeder (editors). 1993. Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. Second edition. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. xviii + 1206 pp. Available online at: http://www.nmnh.si.edu/msw/.
Taxonomic Comments
See Patterson and Norris (2016) for a revised classification of Marmotini (Sciuridae: Xerinae), based on Thorington et al. (2012), Ge et al. (2014), and Patterson and Norris (2016); the three chipmunk lineages should be recognized as three distinct genera, namely, Tamias Illiger, 1811, Eutamias Trouessart, 1880, and Neotamias A. H. Howell, 1929. Thorington and Hoffmann (in Wilson and Reeder 2005) noted that chipmunks could be legitimately allocated to one (Tamias), two (Neotamias, Tamias), or three (Tamias, Neotamias, Eutamias) genera; they chose to adopt the single-genus (Tamias) arrangement.
Conservation Status
Rank MethodExpertise without calculation
Review Date2016-04-04
Change Date2016-04-04
Range Extent Comments
Northeastern Washington eastward through northern Idaho to western Montana, and adjacent southeastern British Columbia and southwestern Alberta; elevations of 720-2400 m (Hoffmann et al., in Wilson and Reeder 1993; Best 1993).
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Various types of coniferous forest and woodland such as spruce-fir, cedar-hemlock, ponderosa pine, riparian communities, and pine/spruce/rhododendron/blueberry at margins of timberline meadows. Most abundant in forest openings or edges, where shrubby undergrowth is abundant. Where range overlaps with T. AMOENUS, seems to prefer dense cover (Larrison and Johnson 1981). Primarily terrestrial, also climbs trees. Often around logs, brush piles, or boulders in Idaho. See Best (1993) for further details for different locations. Nests are made in shrubs or trees (e.g., on limbs 6-18 m above ground, or in cavities), in crevices among boulders, under old log piles, or underground.

Ecology

Home range evidently is not more than a few hundred meters across (see Best 1993).

Reproduction

Breeds late April-May, earliest at low elevations. Breeding may extend through August in north. Most adult females become pregnant each year. Gestation lasts about 1 month. In Montana, births occur from late May to mid-June at lower elevations, early to late June at higher elevations. Litter size usually 4-6. Young appear above ground at about 39-45 days (in July). Some live as long as 6-8 years in the wild. See Best (1993).
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest - ConiferWoodland - Conifer
Other Nations (2)
United StatesN4
ProvinceRankNative
WashingtonS2Yes
IdahoS4Yes
MontanaS4Yes
CanadaN3
ProvinceRankNative
British ColumbiaS3Yes
AlbertaS2Yes
Roadless Areas (8)
Montana (7)
AreaForestAcres
Alexander Creek #696Kootenai National Forest6,719
Bear - Marshall - Scapegoat - SwanLolo National Forest118,485
East PioneerBeaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest145,082
Evans GulchLolo National Forest8,059
Maple PeakLolo National Forest6,469
Reservation DivideLolo National Forest16,908
West PioneerBeaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest248,631
Washington (1)
AreaForestAcres
Grassy TopIdaho Panhandle National Forests13,485
References (26)
  1. American Society of Mammalogists (ASM). 2024. The Mammal Diversity Database (MDD). Online. Available: www.mammaldiversity.org
  2. Baker, R. J., L. C. Bradley, R. D. Bradley, J. W. Dragoo, M. D. Engstrom, R. S. Hoffman, C. A. Jones, F. Reid, D. W. Rice, and C. Jones. 2003a. Revised checklist of North American mammals north of Mexico, 2003. Museum of Texas Tech University Occasional Papers 229:1-23.
  3. Banfield, A. W. F. 1974. The mammals of Canada. University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Canada. 438 pp.
  4. Best, T. L. 1993. Tamias ruficaudus. Am. Soc. Mamm., Mammalian Species No. 452:1-7.
  5. Broadbooks, H. E. 1970a. Home ranges and territorial behavior of the yellow-pine chipmunk, <i>Eutamius amoenus.</i> Journal of Mammalogy 51:310-26.
  6. Broadbooks, H. E. 1970b. Populations of the yellow pine chipmunk, <i>Eutamias amoenus</i>. American Midland Naturalist 83:472-488.
  7. Brown, J. H. 1971. Mechanisms of competitive exclusion between two species of chipmunks. Ecology 52:305-311.
  8. Elliot, L. 1978. Social behavior and foraging ecology of the eastern chipmunk (<i>Tamias striatus</i>) in the Adirondack Mountains. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology No. 265. 107 pp.
  9. Gashwiler, J. S. 1965. Longevity and home range of a Townsend chipmunk. Journal of Mammalogy 46:693.
  10. Ingles, L. G. 1965. Mammals of the Pacific States. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California.
  11. Jackson, H. H. 1961. Mammals of Wisconsin. University of Wisconsin Press, Madison. 504 pp.
  12. Jameson, E. W., Jr. 1999. Host-ectoparasite relationships among North American chipmunks. Acta Theriologica 44:225-231.
  13. Jones, J. K., Jr., R. S. Hoffman, D. W. Rice, C. Jones, R. J. Baker, and M. D. Engstrom. 1992a. Revised checklist of North American mammals north of Mexico, 1991. Occasional Papers, The Museum, Texas Tech University, 146:1-23.
  14. Larrison, E.J. and D.R. Johnson. 1981. Mammals of Idaho. The University of Idaho Press, Moscow.
  15. Levenson, H., et al. 1985. Systematics of the Holarctic chipmunks (<i>Tamias</i>). J. Mammalogy 66:219-242.
  16. Oxley, D. J., M. B. Fenton and G. R. Carmody. 1974. The effects of roads on populations of small mammals. Journal of Applied Ecology 11: 51-59.
  17. Patterson, B. D., and L. R. Heaney. 1987. Preliminary analysis of geographic variation in red-tailed chipmunks (EUTAMIAS RUFICAUDUS). J. Mamm. 68:782-791.
  18. Patterson, B. D., and R. W. Norris. 2016. Towards a uniform nomenclature for ground squirrels: the status of the Holarctic chipmunks. Mammalia 80(3):241-251.
  19. Piaggio, A. J., and G. S. Spicer. 2001. Molecular phylogeny of the chipmunks inferred from mitochondrial cytochrome b and cytochrome oxidase II gene sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 20:335-350.
  20. Roberts, D. R. 1962. Rodent movements in a cutover forest of the Sierra Nevada, California. Ph.D. thesis, University of California, Berkeley.
  21. Sheppard, D. 1972. Home ranges of chipmunks (<i>Eutamias</i>) in Alberta. Journal of Mammalogy 53:379- 380.
  22. Storer, T. I., F. C. Evans, and F. G. Palmer. 1944. Some rodent populations in the Sierra Nevada of California. Ecological Monographs 14:166-192.
  23. Sutton, D. A. 1992. Tamias amoenus. Am. Soc. Mamm., Mammalian Species No. 390:1-8.
  24. Wadsworth, C. E. 1972. Observations of the Colorado chipmunk in southeastern Utah. Southwestern Naturalist 16:451-454.
  25. Wilson, D. E., and D. M. Reeder (editors). 1993. Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. Second edition. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. xviii + 1206 pp. Available online at: http://www.nmnh.si.edu/msw/.
  26. Wilson, D. E., and D. M. Reeder (editors). 2005. Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. Third edition. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. Two volumes. 2,142 pp. [As modified by ASM the Mammal Diversity Database (MDD) at https://www.mammaldiversity.org/index.html]