Taxa

Xerus

Genus

Citation Formats

General Reference

Nature Atlas. "Xerus." Accessed September 8, 2026. https://nature.interactiveatlas.org/taxa/genus-xerus.

APA Style

Nature Atlas. (n.d.). Xerus. Retrieved September 8, 2026, from https://nature.interactiveatlas.org/taxa/genus-xerus

BibTeX

@misc{natureatlas-xerus,
  author = {Nature Atlas},
  title = {Xerus},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://nature.interactiveatlas.org/taxa/genus-xerus},
  note = {Accessed September 8, 2026}
}

Xerus, in its current taxonomic sense, is a genus of rodent in the squirrel family Sciuridae containing a single species, the unstriped ground squirrel. It is found in Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, in dry savanna and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. It is brownish or tawny in color with a lighter colored front, and unlike related African ground squirrel species it lacks dorsal running longitudinal white stripes. Its tail is flat, and its body measures around 226 millimeters with a weight of 258 to 420 grams.

Sources

Xerus (Wikipedia)

Introduction

Quote, Introduction

The unstriped ground squirrel (Xerus rutilus) is a species of rodent (order Rodentia) in the family Sciuridae.

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