Neotamias umbrinus

Uinta Chipmunk
(*Neotamias umbrinus*)
Uinta Chipmunk (Neotamias umbrinus)
Range
Taxonomic classification
Order:	Rodentia
Suborder:	Sciuromorpha
Family:	Sciuridae
Subfamily:	Xerinae
Tribe:	Tamiini
Genus:	Neotamias
Binomial details
	Neotamias umbrinus (J. A. Allen, 1890)
Other resources
	Full taxonomic details at MDD

The Uinta Chipmunk (Neotamias umbrinus) is a chipmunk found in the coniferous forests of parts of the western United States.

Description

From Armstrong (2010) for Colorado: "The lateral stripes are somewhat indistinct and the flanks are grayish in color. Overall coloration tends toward brownish..."

From Hall (1946) describing pelage of subspecies inyoensis in California and Nevada (except Clark and southern Lincoln counties), color nomenclature follows Ridgway, 1912: "Sides of nose Cinnamon-Buff; top of head Smoke Gray to Pale Smoke Gray, with wash of Pinkish Cinnamon on nose; stripes on side of head brownish rather than black, except that center of ocular stripe in some specimens is black; ears Fuscous or Chaetura Drab, shaded with Mouse Gray and bordered on posterior margin with buffy white; postauricular patches grayish-white; median dorsal strip black margined with Sayal Brown; outer dark stripes blackish mixed with Sayal Brown or Mikado Brown; median pair of light stripes grayish-white; outer pair white; lateral dark stripes obsolete; sides Russet or Tawny, shading to Ochraceous-Tawny on sides of neck; thighs Cinnamon-Buff, shaded with Fuscous and Smoky Gray; feet Cinnamon-Buff or Light Pinkish Cinnamon; tail above Cinnamon mixed with Fuscous-Black, beneath Cinnamon, Cinnamon Buff, or Ochraceous-Tawny bordered with Fuscous Black and edged with Pinkish Buff; underparts creamy white. In winter pelage mucher paler; rump grayish and sides paler."

Subspecies

Map redrawn from Hall(1981).

Museum type specimens

Holotype: USNM 186463. Neotamias umbrinus umbrinus. Male. Unita Mountains, Summit County, Utah. Collected September 1888.
Holotype: USNM 186463. Neotamias umbrinus umbrinus. Male. Unita Mountains, Summit County, Utah. Collected September 1888.
Holotype: USNM 186463. Neotamias umbrinus umbrinus. Male. Unita Mountains, Summit County, Utah. Collected September 1888.
Holotype: USNM 186463. Neotamias umbrinus inyoensis. Male. Summit County, Uinta Mountains, Utah. Collected 20 September 1888.
Holotype: USNM 186463. Neotamias umbrinus inyoensis. Male. Summit County, Uinta Mountains, Utah. Collected 20 September 1888.
Holotype: USNM 158181. Neotamias umbrinus sedulus. Adult male. Mount Ellen, Henry Mountains, Garfield County, Utah. Collected 13 October 1908.
Holotype: USNM 158181. Neotamias umbrinus sedulus. Adult male. Mount Ellen, Henry Mountains, Garfield County, Utah. Collected 13 October 1908.
NEON048GP. Neotamias umbrinus montanus. Boulder County, Colorado.
NEON048GP. Neotamias umbrinus montanus. Boulder County, Colorado.
NEON048GP. Neotamias umbrinus montanus. Boulder County, Colorado.

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
Arizona	Hoffmeister (1986)	204–225 (n=20)	84–101 (n=20)	30–37 (n=20)
California	Jameson & Peeters (2004)	210–225	86–103	30–34	16–19	52–71
Colorado	Armstrong et al. (2010)	215–235	88–110	33–35	16–19	60–70
Nevada (Baker Creek, subsp. inyoensis)	Hall (1946)	males: 207–222 (n=10); females: 209–222 (n=10)	males: 71–95 (n=10); females: 75–95 (n=10)	males: 31–34 (n=10); females: 30–34 (n=10)	males: 16.5–18.5 (n=10); females: 17–19 (n=10)	males: 51.4–63.6 (n=10); females: 52.6–80.5 (n=10)
Nevada (Sheep Mtns, subsp. nevadensis)	Hall (1946)	males: 210–222 (n=10); females: 215–224 (n=10)	males: 74–91 (n=10); females: 81–96 (n=10)	males: 31–34 (n=10); females: 32–35 (n=10)		females: 79.0–83.7 (n=2)

Skull

Holotype: USNM 186463. Tamias umbrinus umbrinus. Male. Unita Mountains, Summit County, Utah. Collected September 1888. Dorsal view of the skull. Only the cranium is available for this type specimen.
Holotype: USNM 186463. Tamias umbrinus umbrinus. Male. Unita Mountains, Summit County, Utah. Collected September 1888. Ventral view of the skull. Portions of the skull are damaged or missing.
Holotype: USNM 186463. Tamias umbrinus umbrinus. Male. Unita Mountains, Summit County, Utah. Collected September 1888. Lateral view of the skull. Portions of the skull are damaged or missing.

Similar species

From Armstrong (2010): "The Uinta chipmunk is larger than the least chipmunk [Neotamias minimus] and similar in size to the Colorado chipmunk [Neotamias quadrivittatus]. This chipmunk is often mistaken for the Colorado chipmunk, and older museum specimens are often mislabeled.... Most specimens of the Uinta chipmunk are not as brightly colored as the least and Colorado chipmunks. The lateral stripes are somewhat indistinct and the flanks are grayish in color. Overall the dorsal coloration tends toward brownish, whereas in the other 2 species it is more reddish yellow. The dorsal stripes are generally more distinct than those of the cliff chipmunk [Neotamias dorsalis]." Armstrong (2010) adds, "Because N. umbrinus and N. quadrivittatus are difficult to distinguish in the field, museum specimens should be prepared as vouchers of ecological work and deposited in permanent, public museum collection (Bortolus 2008)."

References

Allen JA. 1890-06. A review of some of the North American ground squirrels of the genus Tamias. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 3(4):45-116.

Armstrong DM, Fitzgerald JP, Meaney CA. 2010. Mammals of Colorado, Second Edition. Denver (CO, USA): University Press of Colorado.

Hoffmeister DF. 1986. Mammals of Arizona. Tucson (AZ, USA): University of Arizona Press.

Jameson EW, Peeters HJ. 2004. Mammals of California (No. 66). Berkeley (CA, USA): University of California Press.