Palmer's chipmunk

Palmer's chipmunk (Neotamias palmeri) is a small rodent of the squirrel family found only in the Spring Mountains of Clark County in southern Nevada. It is confined to isolated mountain "sky island" habitats, mostly between about 2,100 and 3,000 metres, in forests running from the upper pinyon and juniper zone into fir, pine and bristlecone pine stands. Like other chipmunks it has black and white stripes down a tan back with a paler underside; adults measure roughly 21 to 22 centimetres in total length and weigh about 50 to 70 grams. It is omnivorous, eating fruit, grass, insects, fungus and conifer seeds, and its seed caches help spread trees. Females raise litters of three or four pups on their own. The IUCN lists the species as Endangered, naming habitat loss from campgrounds, woodcutting, wildfire, climate change and the spread of Las Vegas among the pressures. The species is named for the botanist and zoologist Theodore Sherman Palmer.