Marmota flaviventris
| Yellow-bellied Marmot
(Marmota flaviventris) | |
|---|---|
| Range | |
 | |
| Taxonomic classification | |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Suborder: | Sciuromorpha |
| Family: | Sciuridae |
| Subfamily: | Xerinae |
| Tribe: | Marmotini |
| Genus: | Marmota |
| Subgenus: | Petromarmota |
| Binomial details | |
| Marmota flaviventris (Audubon & Bachman, 1841) | |
| Other resources | |
| Full taxonomic details at MDD | |
The Yellow-bellied Marmot (Marmota flaviventris) is small- to medium-sized marmot. The species is widely distributed in the western United States where it occurs only in relatively warm, arid habitats at low to mid-elevations (Cowan and Guiguet, 1956; Soper, 1964).
Description
From Frase and Hoffmann (1980): "Conspicuous huffy patches on side of neck; usually white markings between eyes; color of belly yellow or orange to russet; color of upperparts some shade of yellowbrown to tawny, with many light-tipped guard hairs; feet buffy, hazel or dark brown (never black); 10 mammae, two pectoral, two abdominal, and one inguinal pair."
Museum specimens
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Holotype: USNM 168494. Marmota flaviventris nosophora. Adult female. Willow Creek, east of Corvallis, Ravalli County, Montana. Collected 8 April 1910. -
Holotype: USNM 186520. Marmota flaviventris luteola. Adult male. Woods Post Office, Medicine Bow Mountains, Albany County, Wyoming. Collected 13 August 1888. -
Holotype: USNM 133505. Marmota flaviventris obscura. Adult female. Wheeler Peak, Taos County, New Mexico. Collected 24 July 1904. -
Holotype: USNM 93690. Marmota flaviventris avara. Adult female. Toquima Range, Nye County, Nevada. Collected 3 June 1898.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | Jameson & Peeters (2004) | 470–700 | 130–220 | 70–90 | 18–21 | 1.5–4.0 kg |
| Colorado | Armstrong et al. (2010) | 470–680 | 130–210 | 70–90 | 18–22 | 1.6–5.2 kg |
Skull
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Holotype: USNM 186520. Marmota flaviventris luteola. Adult male. Woods Post Office, Medicine Bow Mountains, Albany County, Wyoming. Collected 13 August 1888. Dorsal view of the skull. -
Holotype: USNM 186520. Marmota flaviventris luteola. Adult male. Woods Post Office, Medicine Bow Mountains, Albany County, Wyoming. Collected 13 August 1888. Ventral view of the skull. -
Holotype: USNM 186520. Marmota flaviventris luteola. Adult male. Woods Post Office, Medicine Bow Mountains, Albany County, Wyoming. Collected 13 August 1888. Lateral view of the skull. -
Holotype: USNM 186520. Marmota flaviventris luteola. Adult male. Woods Post Office, Medicine Bow Mountains, Albany County, Wyoming. Collected 13 August 1888. Dorsal view of the mandible. -
Holotype: USNM 186520. Marmota flaviventris luteola. Adult male. Woods Post Office, Medicine Bow Mountains, Albany County, Wyoming. Collected 13 August 1888. Lateral view of the left mandible.
Similar species
Key to North American species of Marmota
Comparison with Marmota caligata
Marmota flaviventris is closely related to the Hoary Marmot (Marmota caligata) and the ranges of the two species overlap in western Montana, northern Idaho, Washington, and southern British Columbia, Canada. Frase and Hoffman (1980) provide the following for Marmota flaviventris: "Sides of neck buffy to yellowish; feet hazel-brown to buffy; rarely dark brown and never black (except in melanistic specimens); pad in middle of sole of hind foot oval (see also Howell, 1915; Hoffmann et al., 1979). Fronto-nasal and fronto-premaxillary sutures usually forming distinct arch across rostrum," compared to "sides of neck whitish to gray or cream; never buffy; feet black to dark brown; pad on hind foot near edge of sole, subcircular. Fronto-nasal and fronto-premaxillary sutures usually forming a fairly straight line across rostrum" in the Hoary Marmot (Marmota caligata)."
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Yellow-bellied Marmot (Marmota flaviventris) photographed by Rick Overson in Custer Gallatin National Forest, Montana. -
Hoary Marmot (Marmota caligata) photographed by Eemeli Haverinen in Denali National Park, Alaska. -
Ventral surface of sole of hind foot of Marmota flaviventris, showing oval shape of posterior pad. Borrowed from Frase and Hoffman (1980).
Comparison with Marmota monax
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Yellow-bellied Marmot (Marmota flaviventris) observed by Rick Overson and Laura Steger in Custer Gallatin National Forest, Montana. The color of the upperparts are some shade of yellow-brown to tawny, with many light-tipped guard hairs. Conspicuous huffy patches are present on the side of the neck; usually white markings are present between the eyes; and the color of the belly is yellow or orange to russet. Feet are buffy, hazel or dark brown. -
Woodchuck (Marmota monax) photographed by sfreeman7 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Upperparts are grayish- or reddish-brown and the head is without white markings except around nose. The feet are black or dark brown.
References
Armstrong DM, Fitzgerald JP, Meaney CA. 2010. Mammals of Colorado, Second Edition. Denver (CO, USA): University Press of Colorado.
Cowan IT, Guiguet CJ. 1956. The mammals of British Columbia. Hand. British Columbia Provo Mus., 11:1-413.
Frase BA, Hoffmann RS. 1980. 'Marmota flaviventris. Mammalian Species (135):1-8.
Jameson EW, Peeters HJ. 2004. Mammals of California (No. 66). Berkeley (CA, USA): University of California Press.
Soper JD. 1964. The mammals of Alberta. Edmonton (Alberta, CA): Hamly Press.