Neotamias ochrogenys
| Yellow-cheeked Chipmunk
(Neotamias ochrogenys) | |
|---|---|
| Range | |
 | |
| Taxonomic classification | |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Suborder: | Sciuromorpha |
| Family: | Sciuridae |
| Subfamily: | Xerinae |
| Tribe: | Tamiini |
| Genus: | Neotamias |
| Binomial details | |
| Neotamias ochrogenys (C. H. Merriam, 1897) | |
| Other resources | |
| Full taxonomic details at MDD | |
The Yellow-cheeked Chipmunk (Neotamias ochrogenys) is commonly associated with the humid coastal redwood forest.
Description
From Gannon et al. (1993): "dark colored and long-tailed, with prominent alternating dark and pale longitudinal stripes on its face and dorsum. [Neotamias] ochrogenys is the darkest of the townsendii-group chipmunks (Hall, 1981). Of the five dark dorsal stripes, the mid-dorsal one is the longest, widest, and most conspicuous. Of the four pale dorsal stripes, the two lateralmost are the most prominent. Of the facial stripes, the dark one through the eye and the pale ones above and below the eye are the most prominent. A pale postauricular patch nearly the size of the pinna is always present (Adams, 1967). The general color of autumn pelage of adults has been described as dark tawny olive (Howell, 1929) and as ochraceous to blue-gray (Adams, 1967). Dark gray hairs on the ventral side of the body are white-tipped. The pelage on the sides of the body blends from the color of the venter to ochraceous. The dorsoventrally flattened tail is dark rufous to bright orange ventrally; dorsally it is of the same color as the rest of the body. Most of the guard hairs on the tail are tipped with white (Adams, 1967)."
Museum images
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Holotype: USNM 67182. Neotamias ochrogenys. Adult male. Mendocino, Mendocino County, California. Collected 17 July 1894. -
Holotype: USNM 67182. Neotamias ochrogenys. Adult male. Mendocino, Mendocino County, California. Collected 17 July 1894.
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) | 252–277 | 107–126 | 37–39 | 15–18 | 65–92 |
Skull
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Holotype: USNM 67182. Neotamias ochrogenys. Adult male. Mendocino, Mendocino County, California. Collected 17 July 1894. Dorsal view of the skull. -
Holotype: USNM 67182. Neotamias ochrogenys. Adult male. Mendocino, Mendocino County, California. Collected 17 July 1894. Ventral view of the skull. -
Holotype: USNM 67182. Neotamias ochrogenys. Adult male. Mendocino, Mendocino County, California. Collected 17 July 1894. Lateral view of the skull. -
Holotype: USNM 67182. Neotamias ochrogenys. Adult male. Mendocino, Mendocino County, California. Collected 17 July 1894. Dorsal view of the mandible. -
Holotype: USNM 67182. Neotamias ochrogenys. Adult male. Mendocino, Mendocino County, California. Collected 17 July 1894. Ventral view of the mandible. -
Holotype: USNM 67182. Neotamias ochrogenys. Adult male. Mendocino, Mendocino County, California. Collected 17 July 1894. Lateral view of the left mandible.
Similar species
References
Adams DR. 1967. A distributional and descriptive study of rodents of the Eutamias genus in the coastal area of southern Humboldt, Mendocino and Sonoma counties. M.A. thesis, Chico State University, Chico, California.
Gannon WL, Forbes RB, Kain DE. 1993. Tamias ochrogenys. Mammalian Species (445):1-4.
Hall ER. 1981. The mammals of North America. 2 vols. New York (NY, USA): John Wiley and Sons.
Howell AH. 1929. Revision of the American chipmunks (genera Tamias and Eutamias). North American Fauna 52:1-157.