Poliocitellus franklinii
| Franklin's Ground Squirrel
(Poliocitellus franklinii) | |
|---|---|
| Range | |
 | |
| Taxonomic classification | |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Suborder: | Sciuromorpha |
| Family: | Sciuridae |
| Subfamily: | Xerinae |
| Tribe: | Marmotini |
| Genus: | Poliocitellus |
| Binomial details | |
| Poliocitellus franklinii (Sabine, 1822) | |
| Other resources | |
| Full taxonomic details at MDD | |
The Franklin's Ground Squirrel (Poliocitellus franklinii) inhabits tall grasslands in portions of the Great Plains of the United States and Canada. Poliocitellus franklinii is the only species in the genus Poliocitellus.
Description
From Ostroff and Finck (2003): "Coat of [Poliocitellus] franklinii is a brownish gray speckled with pale and dark flecks. Fur on sides of body is pale (Fitzgerald et al. 1994), and thinner fur on ventral side is light yellowish-white (Jones et al., 1983; Kurta, 1995). Fur on tail is blackish mixed with pale flecks. Head of franklinii is typically grayer than rest of body (Fitzgerald et al., 1994)."
External measurements
Length measurements are in millimeters (mm) and weight measurements are in grams (g), unless stated otherwise. If available, the sample size (n=) is provided. If a range is not provided and n= is not given, then the listed measurement represents an average.
| Part of range | Reference | Total length | Tail length | Hindfoot length | Ear length | Mass |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado | Armstrong et al. (2010) | 360–412 | 123–160 | 42–56 | 13–18 | 375–540 |
| Minnesota | Hazard (1982) | 333–562 | 110–135 | 46–55 | 12–16 | 292.3–576.3 |
| North Dakota | Seabloom et al. (2020) | 374 | 127 | 51 | 14 | 326–477 |
Skull
The holotype for the species (BMNH:Mamm:61a) is located in the Natural History Museum of London (formerly the British Museum of Natural History). As of April 2026, access to the collection is restricted while it is being relocated.
Similar species
From Helgen et al. (2009): "Poliocitellus franklinii is a medium-sized member of the tribe Marmotini, larger than the species of Xerospermophilus, Callospermophilus, Ictidomys, and most Spermophilus, matching in size many species of Urocitellus as well as Notocitellus annulatus, but smaller than the species of Otospermophilus, Cynomys, and Marmota. The tail is bushy and subequal in length to the head–body, and the ears are short and rounded. The dorsum is conspicuously infused with orange-brown tones, contrasting with the paler gray-buff head, rump, tail, and underside, and black banding throughout the dorsal pelages generates a grizzled overall appearance. Females have 5 or 6 pairs of teats (Moore 1961). The pelage is short and sleek. The skull of Poliocitellus differs from that of Urocitellus and Spermophilus in having a proportionally narrower braincase and zygomata, wider interorbital region, weaker postorbital processes, longer incisive foramina, a smaller P3, a longer and more tapering (rather than parallel-sided) rostrum, heavier and more opisthodont incisors, and a less laterally elongate meatal portion of the auditory bulla. It differs further from Spermophilus in having more richly pigmented orange incisor enamel (much paler in Spermophilus). The skull of Poliocitellus closely resembles that of Otospermophilus in size and some qualitative features (Howell 1938), but differs especially from that genus in having broader nasals, longer incisive foramina, proportionally smaller bullae, and a larger, bicuspidate P3. The molars are relatively brachyodont, with the parastyle ridge on M1 and M2 rising to join the protocone without abrupt change in direction (cf. Howell 1938)."
From Ostroff and Finck (2003): "Externally, S. franklinii resembles the eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis-Jackson 1961); however, S. franklinii has a shorter, less bushy tail; shorter and rounder ears; longer and straighter claws; and a yellowish tint on its rump (Schwartz and Schwartz 1981). Skull of S. franklinii is similar to that of S. carolinensis; however, S. franklinii does not have prominent postorbital processes, and distance between eye orbits is narrower (Schwartz and Schwartz, 1981)."
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Franklin's Ground Squirrel (Poliocitellus franklinii) observed by dexternienhaus in Carlton County, Minnesota. -
Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) observed by Ben Zerante in Chicago, Illinois.
References
Armstrong DM, Fitzgerald JP, Meaney CA. 2010. Mammals of Colorado, Second Edition. Denver (CO, USA): University Press of Colorado.
Fitzgerald JP, Meaney CA, Armstrong DM. Spermophilus franklinii. Mammals of Colorado. Niwot (CO, USA): Denver Museum of Natural History and University Press of Colorado.
Helgen KM, Cole FR, Helgen LE, Wilson DE. 2009. Generic revision in the Holarctic ground squirrel genus Spermophilus. Journal of Mammalogy 90(2):270-305. https://doi.org./10.1644/07-MAMM-A-309.1
Jones Jr JK, Armstrong DM, Hoffman RS, Jones C. 1983. Mammals of the northern Great Plains. Lincoln (NE, USA): University of Nebraska Press.
Kurta A. 2017. Mammals of the Great Lakes region. Ann Arbor (MI, USA): University of Michigan Press.
Hazard EB. 1982. The mammals of Minnesota. Minneapolis (MN, USA): University of Minnesota Press.
Ostroff AC, Finck EJ. 2003. Spermophilus franklinii. Mammalian Species 724:1–5. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3504497
Seabloom R, Hoganson JW, Jensen WF. 2020. The mammals of North Dakota. Fargo (ND, USA): North Dakota State University Press.