Merriam's chipmunk is a chipmunk of the squirrel family found in central and southern California, including the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, and in a small area of northern Baja California in Mexico. It has grayish-brown fur with dark and light dorsal stripes, light gray or white stripes around the eyes, a white underbelly and a very bushy tail that often measures over 80 percent of the length of the head and body. It lives mainly in forest and chaparral-covered shrubland, most often below about 1,200 meters though it has been seen as high as 2,940 meters, and it depends on understory brush, trees, rocks, logs and plant litter for food and shelter. The diet is mainly herbivorous: acorns are a major food, especially from valley oaks, and the chipmunk carries seeds and acorns in its cheek pouches to cache them in the ground, while also taking berries, insects and larvae. Females call to attract males when mating.
Facts
Classification
System (Realm) Living or Extinct Conservation Status Activity Pattern Comparison
CITES Appendix Connections
Child Taxon Of
Source Merriam's chipmunk (Wikipedia)
In Biome
Source Merriam's chipmunk (Wikipedia)
In Ecosystem
Source Merriam's chipmunk (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases
Found In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Source Merriam's chipmunk (Wikipedia)Lead, Baja CaliforniaQuote, Lead, Baja California
a small area in northern Baja California, Mexico
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Source Merriam's chipmunk (Wikipedia)LeadQuote, Lead
found in central and southern California in the United States
Sources
1. Animal Diversity Web: Tamias merriami
Animal Diversity WebConservation Status
IUCN Red List Least Concern
Conservation Status, CITES
CITES No special status
Food Habits
Evidence has shown that Merriam's chipmunks consume more than seventy species of plants.
Food Habits, seeds
they remove the husk and then eat the seeds
Behavior
are diurnal and most do not hibernate
Habitat Regions
terrestrial
Lifespan/Longevity, living
Merriam's chipmunks can live up to 5 years in the wild.
Lifespan/Longevity, wild
Merriam's chipmunks can live up to 5 years in the wild.
In Group: Rodents And Lagomorphs, Scientific Classification, Order
Rodentia
View the Source Merriam's chipmunk (Wikipedia)
Lead
found in central and southern California in the United States
Lead, Baja California
a small area in northern Baja California, Mexico
In Biome: Chaparral, Distribution and habitat
forests and chaparral-covered shrubland habitats
In Ecosystem: California Chaparral, Distribution and habitat, California chaparral
chaparral-covered shrubland habitats
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