Neotamias speciosus
| Lodgepole Chipmunk
(Neotamias speciosus) | |
|---|---|
| Range | |
 | |
| Taxonomic classification | |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Suborder: | Sciuromorpha |
| Family: | Sciuridae |
| Subfamily: | Xerinae |
| Tribe: | Tamiini |
| Genus: | Neotamias |
| Binomial details | |
| Neotamias speciosus (C. H. Merriam in J. A. Allen, 1890) | |
| Other resources | |
| Full taxonomic details at MDD | |
The Lodgepole Chipmunk (Neotamias speciosus) inhabits forests of lodgepole pine, Jeffrey pine, and red fir in California and extreme western Nevada (Best et al., 1994).
Description
From Best et al. (1994): "Body size of T. speciosus is medium for the genus. The color usually is bright, with contrasting pale and dark elements. The crown of the head is brown and grizzled with gray. The sides vary from ochraceous tawny to sayal brown in summer pelage, and the dark facial stripes are black and bordered with brown. The submalar stripe is black centrally below the eye. The dorsal stripes contrast sharply, and the median stripe is black, usually fading to brown over the shoulder region. The medial pale stripes are washed with ochraceous, and the lateral pale stripes are broad, white, and conspicuous. The subterminal black area on the underside of the tail is 13-20 mm long (color nomenclature follows Ridgway, 1912-Johnson, 1943). The color pattern is consistent within populations (Westermeier, 1974)."
Subspecies
Museum type specimens
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Holotype: USNM 31299. 'Neotamias speciosus callipeplus. Young adult male. Summit of Mount Pinos, Ventura County, California. Collected 20 October 1891. -
Holotype: USNM 31299. 'Neotamias speciosus callipeplus. Young adult male. Summit of Mount Pinos, Ventura County, California. Collected 20 October 1891. -
Holotype: USNM 31299. 'Neotamias speciosus callipeplus. Young adult male. Summit of Mount Pinos, Ventura County, California. Collected 20 October 1891. -
Holotype: USNM 186462. Neotamias speciosus speciosus. Adult, immature male. San Bernardino Mountains, San Bernardino County, California. Collected 22 June 1885. -
Holotype: USNM 186462. Neotamias speciosus speciosus. Adult, immature male. San Bernardino Mountains, San Bernardino County, California. Collected 22 June 1885. -
Holotype: USNM 186462. Neotamias speciosus speciosus. Adult, immature male. San Bernardino Mountains, San Bernardino County, California. Collected 22 June 1885. -
Holotype: USNM 30899. Neotamias speciosus sequoiensis. Adult female. Mineral King, east fork of Kaweah River, Tulare County, California. Collected 12 September 1891. -
Holotype: USNM 30899. Neotamias speciosus sequoiensis. Adult female. Mineral King, east fork of Kaweah River, Tulare County, California. Collected 12 September 1891.
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) | 197–218 | 80–95 | 30–36 | 18–20 | 30–64 |
Skull
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Holotype: USNM 186462. Neotamias speciosus speciosus. Adult, immature male. San Bernardino Mountains, San Bernardino County, California. Collected 22 June 1885. Dorsal view of the skull. -
Holotype: USNM 186462. Neotamias speciosus speciosus. Adult, immature male. San Bernardino Mountains, San Bernardino County, California. Collected 22 June 1885. Ventral view of the skull. -
Holotype: USNM 186462. Neotamias speciosus speciosus. Adult, immature male. San Bernardino Mountains, San Bernardino County, California. Collected 22 June 1885. Lateral view of the skull. -
Holotype: USNM 186462. Neotamias speciosus speciosus. Adult, immature male. San Bernardino Mountains, San Bernardino County, California. Collected 22 June 1885. Dorsal view of the mandible. -
Holotype: USNM 186462. Neotamias speciosus speciosus. Adult, immature male. San Bernardino Mountains, San Bernardino County, California. Collected 22 June 1885. Lateral view of the left mandible.
Similar species
Neotamias speciosus is sympatric or parapatric with the Alpine Chipmunk (Neotamias alpinus), Yellow-pine Chipmunk (Neotamias amoenus), Merriam's Chipmunk (Neotamias merriami), Least Chipmunk (Neotamias minimus), California Chipmunk (Neotamias obscurus), Long-eared Chipmunk (Neotamias quadrimaculatus), Shadow Chipmunk (Neotamias senex), and Uinta Chipmunk (Neotamias umbrinus) (Hall, 1946; Callahan, 1976; Best et al., 1994).
Comparison with Neotamias amoenus
From Best et al. (1994) (note: a taxonomic update has been applied): "Compared with N. amoenus, N. speciosus is larger, has longer and narrower ears, and has more sharply contrasting pale and dark stripes. In N. speciosus, the medial pair of pale dorsal stripes is narrower and the lateral pair of pale stripes, although not always broader, is more conspicuous. The pale facial stripes are less washed with ochraceous and the dark facial stripes usually are blacker. The skull of N. speciosus is more massive, with a less pointed rostrum and larger incisive foramina (Johnson, 1943)."
Comparison with Neotamias panamintinus
From Best et al. (1994) (note: a taxonomic update has been applied): "Compared with N. panamintinus, N. speciosus is larger, and has more pointed ears, more black in the dark facial and dorsal stripes, more ochraceous wash over the pale stripes and underparts, and a broader subterminal black band across the underside of the tail. The skull of N. speciosus is relatively narrower, but has a broader and less-pointed rostrum. The roof of the braincase is less flattened, and the upper rows of cheekteeth are more divergent anteriorly (Johnson, 1943)."
Comparison with Neotamias umbrinus
From Best et al. (1994) (note: a taxonomic update has been applied): "Compared with N. umbrinus, N. speciosus is smaller, and has longer ears and a slightly shorter tail. N. speciosus is darker, the crown of the head and the shoulders are brown rather than gray, the dark facial stripes are darker, the submalar stripe has a black center below the eye, and the ocular stripe is black. The medial pair of pale dorsal stripes is not as gray, the lateral pair is not as white, and both pairs are heavily washed with ochraceous. The subterminal black area on the underside of the tail is less restricted than in N. umbrinus, being ca. 20 mm. The skull of N. speciosus is shorter and broader. The upper incisors are shorter and more recurved, and their outer borders form an arc of a circle having a radius of ca. 5.0 mm, compared with 5.7 mm in N. umbrinus (Johnson, 1943)."
References
Best TL, Clawson RG, Clawson JA. 1994. Tamias speciosus. Mammalian Species (478): 1-9. https://doi.org/10.2307/3504259
Jameson EW, Peeters HJ. 2004. Mammals of California (No. 66). Berkeley (CA, USA): University of California Press.