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Home/Species/ Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel

Ictidomys tridecemlineatus

(Mitchill, 1821)

Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel

G5Secure Found in 3 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.100397
Element CodeAMAFB05090
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassMammalia
OrderRodentia
FamilySciuridae
GenusIctidomys
Synonyms
Spermophilus tridecemlineatus(Mitchill, 1821)
Other Common Names
Spermophile rayé (FR) thirteen-lined ground squirrel (EN)
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
Recent molecular phylogenetic studies suggest that the traditionally recognized genera Marmota (marmots), Cynomys (prairie dogs), and Ammospermophilus (antelope ground squirrels) render Spermophilus paraphyletic, potentially suggesting that multiple generic-level lineages should be credited within Spermophilus (Helgen et al. 2009). As a result, ground squirrels formerly allocated to the genus Spermophilus (sensu Thorington and Hoffman, in Wilson and Reeder 2005) are now classified in 8 genera (Notocitellus, Otospermophilus, Callospermophilus, Ictidomys, Poliocitellus, Xerospermophilus, and Urocitellus). Spermophilus sensu stricto is restricted to Eurasia.

Known to hybridize at several localities with I. mexicanus (see Thorington and Hoffmann, in Wilson and Reeder 2005).
Conservation Status
Rank MethodExpertise without calculation
Review Date2016-04-04
Change Date1996-11-06
Range Extent Comments
South-central Canada to Texas and from Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and eastern Arizona to Michigan, Ohio, Missouri, and Oklahoma.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Restricted to dry and sandy (and "tighter") soils of open areas, such as grasslands, cultivated fields, meadows, roadsides, airfields, shrublands, and suburb lawns. Beaches and dry pine barrens also used. Rests, gives birth, and hibernates in underground burrow.

Ecology

Although not colonial, does prefer to live in loosely constituted families. Home ranges range from less than an acre to 12 acres; male range larger than that of female (Gunderson 1976). Densities vary from 1-20 per acre (Schwartz and Schwartz 1981)

Reproduction

Breeding period is April-June. Gestation lasts 27-28 days. Litter size averages 8 (13 maximum), perhaps larger in older females than in younger ones; 1 litter per year. Young are weaned in 26 days, emerge from burrow about 5 weeks after birth. Sexually mature by first spring.
Terrestrial Habitats
Grassland/herbaceousSand/duneCropland/hedgerowSuburban/orchard
Other Nations (2)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
KansasS5Yes
New MexicoS4Yes
NebraskaS5Yes
IndianaS4Yes
South DakotaS5Yes
UtahS3Yes
OklahomaSNRYes
IowaS5Yes
MontanaS5Yes
OhioSNRYes
WisconsinS5Yes
ArizonaS2Yes
ColoradoS5Yes
IllinoisS5Yes
MichiganS5Yes
MissouriS2Yes
WyomingS5Yes
MinnesotaSNRYes
TexasS5Yes
PennsylvaniaSNANo
North DakotaSNRYes
CanadaN5
ProvinceRankNative
AlbertaSUYes
ManitobaS5Yes
SaskatchewanS5Yes
Roadless Areas (3)
North Dakota (1)
AreaForestAcres
SheyenneDakota Prairie Grasslands14,537
Wyoming (2)
AreaForestAcres
Middle ForkMedicine Bow-Routt National Forest13,238
Piney CreekBighorn National Forest22,240
References (25)
  1. American Society of Mammalogists (ASM). 2024. The Mammal Diversity Database (MDD). Online. Available: www.mammaldiversity.org
  2. Baker, R. H. 1983. Michigan mammals. Michigan State University Press. 642 pp.
  3. Banfield, A. W. F. 1974. The mammals of Canada. University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Canada. 438 pp.
  4. Caire, W., J. D. Tyler, B. P. Glass, and M. A. Mares. 1989. Mammals of Oklahoma. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman. Oklahoma. 567 pp.
  5. Drabek, C. M. 1973. Home range and daily activity of the round-tailed ground squirrel, <i>Spermophilus tereticaudus neglectus</i>. American Midland Naturalist 89:287-93.
  6. Evans, F. C., and R. Holdenried. 1943. A population study of the Beechey ground squirrel in central California. Journal of Mammalogy 24:231-260.
  7. Gunderson, H.L. 1976. Mammalogy. McGraw-Hill Book Co., NY 483 pp.
  8. Hafner, D. J. 1992. Speciation and persistence of a contact zone in Mojave Desert ground squirrels, subgenus <i>Xerospermophilus</i>. Journal of Mammalogy 73:770-778.
  9. Hall, E. R. 1981a. The Mammals of North America, second edition. Vols. I &amp; II. John Wiley &amp; Sons, New York, New York. 1181 pp.
  10. Hamilton, W. J., Jr., and J. O. Whitaker, Jr. 1979. Mammals of the eastern United States. Cornell Univ. Press, Ithaca, New York. 346 pp.
  11. Harris, J. H., and P. Leitner. 2004. Home-range size and use of space by adult Mohave ground squirrels, <i>Spermophilus mohavensis</i>. Journal of Mammalogy 85:517-523.
  12. Helgen, K. M., F. R. Cole, L. E. Helgen, and D. E. Wilson. 2009. Generic revision in the holarctic ground squirrel genus <i>Spermophilus</i>. Journal of Mammalogy 90(2):270-305.
  13. Johnson, K. 1981. Social organization in a colony of rock squirrels (<i>Spermophilus variegatus</i>). Southwestern Naturalist 26:237-242.
  14. Morton, M. L., C. S. Maxwell, and C. E. Wade. 1974. Body size, body composition, and behavior of juvenile Belding ground squirrels. Great Basin Naturalist 34:121-134.
  15. Murie, J. O. 1973. Population characteristics and phenology of a Franklin ground squirrel <i>(Spermophilus franklinii)</i> colony in central Alberta. American Midland Naturalist 90:334-40.
  16. Murie, J. O., and G. R. Michener, editors. 1984. The biology of ground-dwelling squirrels: annual cycles, behavioral ecology and sociality. Univ. Nebraska Press, Lincoln. xvi + 459 pp.
  17. Murie, J. O., and M. A. Harris. 1978. Territoriality and dominance in male Columbian ground squirrels (<i>Spermophilus columbianus</i>). Canadian Journal of Zoology 56:2402-12
  18. Olson, G. S., and B. Van Horne. 1998. Dispersal patterns of juvenile Townsend's ground squirrels in southwestern Idaho. Canadian Journal of Zoology 76:2084-2089.
  19. Owings, D. H., M. Borchert, and R. A. Virginia. 1977. The behaviour of California ground squirrels. Animal Behaviour 25:221-30.
  20. Recht, M. A. 1977. The biology of the Mohave ground squirrel (<i>Spermophilus mohavensis</i>): home range, daily activity, foraging and weight gain, and thermoregulatory behavior. Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles. 117 pp.
  21. Schwartz, C. W., and E. R. Schwartz. 1981. The wild mammals of Missouri. University of Missouri Press, Columbia. 356 pp.
  22. Slade, N. A., and D. F. Balph. 1974. Population ecology of Uinta ground squirrels. Ecology 55:989-1003.
  23. Streubel, D. P., and J. P. Fitzgerald. 1978. SPERMOPHILUS TRIDECEMLINEATUS. Am. Soc. Mamm., Mammalian Species No. 103:1-5.
  24. 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/.
  25. 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]