Xerospermophilus

Xerospermophilus, commonly called pygmy ground squirrels, is a genus of small ground squirrel in the tribe Marmotini of the squirrel family Sciuridae, with the type species Spermophilus mohavensis, named by Merriam in 1889. It contains four species found in Mexico and the United States: the Mohave ground squirrel and the round-tailed ground squirrel, historically grouped in the subgenus Xerospermophilus, and the spotted ground squirrel and the Perote ground squirrel, historically grouped in the subgenus Ictidomys. The genus was formerly part of Spermophilus, and was separated along with six other genera after DNA sequencing of the cytochrome b gene showed that genus was paraphyletic relative to prairie dogs and marmots. The name combines the Greek xeros, meaning dry, with Spermophilus.