Neotamias townsendii
| Townsend's Chipmunk
(Neotamias townsendii) | |
|---|---|
| Range | |
 | |
| Taxonomic classification | |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Suborder: | Sciuromorpha |
| Family: | Sciuridae |
| Subfamily: | Xerinae |
| Tribe: | Tamiini |
| Genus: | Neotamias |
| Binomial details | |
| Neotamias townsendii (Bachman, 1839) | |
| Other resources | |
| Full taxonomic details at MDD | |
The Townsend's Chipmunk (Neotamias townsendii) is found in forested areas of western Oregon, western Washington, and extreme southwestern British Columbia, Canada.
Description
From Sutton (1993): "Townsend's chipmunks are characterized by large size, creamy white to grayish underparts, ears that are fuscous to fuscous black anteriorly and smoke gray posteriorly; the dorsal dark stripe is fuscous black, extending from crown to rump, and the other dark body stripes are mostly obsolete anteriorly; the light body stripes are narrow and may be nearly obsolete. The tail is fuscous black above and the border hairs are tipped with gray or whitish gray; when running, the tail is held erect. Large cheek pouches open inside the mouth, anterior to the molars, and extend back to the posterior base of the ears. There are two annual molts, one beginning in May, and the other in August. The fall molt results in the olivaceous phase, with ochraceous-tawny light stripes, fading in the spring to a more tawny body color with dull white stripes tinged with cinnamon (Howell, 1929)." Sutton adds, "Howell (1929) described the body color of Townsend's chipmunk as variable, but tail edgings are uniformly smoke gray or pale buff, never deep buff; sides and upper parts vary from tawny, antique brown or umber to tawny olive, sayal brown, orange cinnamon, or clay color; dark dorsal stripes are black or fuscous black, mixed with sayal brown, mikado brown, or russet; the two medial light dorsal stripes vary from grayish white or smoke gray to ochraceous tawny. In some specimens the outer light stripes are obscured by cinnamon, tawny, or olivaceous hair tips. The rump and thighs range from ochraceous tawny to antique brown, with the thighs somewhat paler and more olivaceous. The hind feet are sayal brown to pinkish buff, clouded with fuscous, and the front feet are similar but paler. Top of the tail is fuscous black shaded with grayish white; lower side of the tail is tawny or clay color bordered by fuscous black, and the hairs are tipped with grayish white. The ventral body color is creamy white or grayish white, in some specimens shaded with pale, pinkish buff. The coastal form, [subspecies] townsendii, is darker, brownish or olivaceous, compared to the lighter, reddish or somewhat orange-shaded inland [subspecies] cooperi. The winter pelage color is similar but somewhat darker, with the dorsal light stripes more buffy white."
Museum images
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Syntype: USNM 212/1183. Neotamias townsendii cooperi. On eastern side of the Cascade Mountains, Skamania County, Washington. Collected July 1853. -
Syntype: USNM 212/1183. Neotamias townsendii cooperi. On eastern side of the Cascade Mountains, Skamania County, Washington. Collected July 1853. -
NEON01ITF. Neotamias townsendii. Male. Wind River Experimental Forest, Skamania County, Washington. -
NEON01ITF. Neotamias townsendii. Male. Wind River Experimental Forest, Skamania County, Washington. -
NEON01ITF. Neotamias townsendii. Male. Wind River Experimental Forest, Skamania County, Washington.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon (Portland) | Sutton (1993) | 235–263 (n=10) | 96–125 (n=10) | 34–36 (n=10) | 15–17.5 (n=10) | |
| Washington (southern Cascade Mountains) | Sutton (1993) | 238–263 (n=10) | 102–120 (n=10) | 34–38 (n=10) | 15–18 (n=10) |
Skull
Greatest length of skull is 37–40 mm (Sutton, 1992).
Taxonomic notes
From Sutton (1993), prior to Tamias townsendii being moved to Neotamias townsendii: "Principally on the basis of large size and white or whitish buff tail edging, ten species and one subspecies were recognized as belonging to Townsend's chipmunk group (Howell, 1929; Merriam, 1897). Of these, five species and one subspecies, Tamias alieni, T. dorsalis, T. merriami, T. quadrimaculatus, T. sonomae, and T. townsendii sonomae [now T. sonomae], are no longer retained in the group (Hall, 1981). The other five taxa were considered to be subspecies of T. townsendii by Hall and Kelson (1959). Subsequently, three of these subspecies were elevated to species status, T. ochrogenys, T. senex, and T. siskiyou..."
Similar species
References
Howell AH. 1929. Revision of the American chipmunks (genera Tamias and Eutamias). North American Fauna 52:1-157.
Sutton DA. 1992. Tamias amoenus. Mammalian Species (390):1-8.
Sutton DA. 1993. Tamias townsendii. Mammalian Species (435):1-6. https://doi.org/10.2307/3504166