Genera and Subgenera
Genus Eutamias Trouessart
Eutamias Trouessart, E. L. Catal. Mamm. viv. et foss., Rodentia, in Bull. Soc. d’Etudes Sci. d’Angers, 10:86-87, 1880. Type Sciurus striatus asiaticus Gmelin.
Eutamias, Merriam, C. H., Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 11:189-190, July 1, 1897.
Eutamias, Howell, A. H., N. Amer. Fauna, 52:26, November 30, 1929.
Tamias, Ellerman, J. R., The families and genera of living rodents. British Mus. (Nat. Hist.), 1:426, June 8, 1940.
Tamias, Bryant, M. D., Amer. Midland Nat., 33:732, March 1945.
Diagnosis.—Skull lightly built, narrow; postorbital process light and weak; lacrimal not elongated; infraorbital foramen lacks canal, relatively larger than in most sciurids; P3 present; head of malleus not elongated; plane of manubrium of malleus 90 degrees to plane of lamina; hypohyal and ceratohyal bones of hyoid apparatus fused in adults; conjoining tendon between anterior and posterior sets of digastric muscles ribbonlike; keel on dorsal side of tip of baculum; tail more than 40 per cent of total length; five longitudinal dark stripes evenly spaced and subequal in width; two lateral dark stripes short.
Subgenus Eutamias Trouessart
Eutamias Trouessart, E. L. Catal. Mamm. viv. et foss., Rodentia, in Bull. Soc. d’Etudes Sci. d’Angers 10:86-87, 1880. Type Sciurus striatus asiaticus Gmelin.
Eutamias, Howell, A. H., N. Amer. Fauna, 52:26, November 30, 1929.
Eutamias, Ellerman, J. R., The families and genera of living rodents. British Mus. (Nat. Hist.), 1:426, June 8, 1940.
Eutamias, Bryant, M. D., Amer. Midland Nat. 33:732, March 1945.
Diagnosis.—Size large; lambdoidal crest moderately developed; supraorbital notches distinctly anterior to posterior notch of zygomatic plate; baculum with faint keel on dorsal surface of tip which curves upward; pelage coarse; ears broad, rounded, of medium height.
Geographic range.—Palearctic. West to Dvina and Kama rivers, Vologda, and Kazan, in European Russia. South to southern Ural Mountains, Altai Mountains; Kansu, Szechwan, Shensi, Shansi, and Chihli provinces of China; Manchuria and Korea. East to Hokkaido Island, Japan; Kunashiri Island, southern Kurile Islands; Sakhalin Island, and Yakutsk, Siberia. North nearly to Arctic Coast in Siberia and European Russia (Ellerman and Morrison-Scott 1951:503).
Subgenus Neotamias Howell
Neotamias Howell, A. H., N. Amer. Fauna, 52:26, November 30, 1929. Type, Eutamias merriami J. A. Allen [=Tamias asiaticus merriami J. A. Allen].
Neotamias, Ellerman, J. R., The families and genera of living rodents. British Mus. (Nat. Hist.), 1:426, June 8, 1940.
Neotamias, Bryant, M. D., Amer. Midland Nat., 33:372, March, 1945.
Diagnosis.—Size small to medium; lambdoidal crest barely discernible; supraorbital notches even with, or posterior to, posterior notch of zygomatic plate; baculum with distinct keel on dorsal surface of tip which curves upward; pelage silky; ears long and pointed.
Geographic range.—Western Nearctic. West to Pacific Coast. South to Lat. 20°30' in Baja California and to northwestern Durango and southeastern Coahuila, Mexico. East to eastern New Mexico, westernmost Oklahoma, eastern Colorado, Wyoming, northwestern Nebraska, western and northwestern South Dakota, western and northwestern North Dakota, northeastern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and eastern Ontario. North to southwestern shore of Hudson Bay, southern shore of Great Slave Lake and Yukon River, Yukon.
Genus Tamias Illiger
Tamias Illiger, J. K. W., Prodromus Syst. Mam. Avium, pp. 83, 1811. Type, Sciurus striatus Linnaeus.
Tamias, Howell, A. H., N. Amer. Fauna, 52:26, November 30, 1929.
Tamias, Ellerman, J. R., The families and genera of living rodents. British Mus. (Nat. Hist.), 1:426, June 8, 1940.
Tamias, Bryant, M. D., Amer. Midland Nat. 33:372, March, 1945.
Diagnosis.—Skull lightly built, narrow; postorbital process small and weak; lacrimal not elongated; infraorbital foramen lacks canal, relatively larger than in most sciurids; P3 absent; head of malleus elongated; plane of manubrium of malleus forms 60 degree angle with plane of lamina; hypohyal and ceratohyal bones of hyoid apparatus fused in adults; conjoining tendon of anterior and posterior digastric muscles rounded in cross section; keel on ventral surface of tip which curves upward in baculum; tail less than 38 per cent of total length; five longitudinal dark and four longitudinal light stripes present but two dorsal light stripes at least twice as broad as other stripes; four lateral dark stripes short.
Geographic range.—Eastern Nearctic. West to Turtle Mountains, North Dakota; eastern North Dakota, eastern South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma. South to southern Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, northwestern Georgia. East to Atlantic Coast from South Carolina to Nova Scotia. North to northeastern Quebec and southern tip of Hudson Bay.