Genera and Subgenera of Chipmunks

Genera and Subgenera of Chipmunks

The supraspecific categories of the chipmunks, as in most other groups of squirrels, have been a source of controversy for many years. Before presenting new evidence and a review of older evidence bearing on the problem, it seems desirable to review briefly in chronological order, the taxonomic history of the genera and subgenera of the chipmunks. Linnaeus (1758:64) described the eastern North American chipmunks under the name Sciurus striatus and based his description on that of Catesby (1743:75). The Asiatic chipmunk was first described, under the name Sciurus sibiricus, by Laxmann (1769:69). Schreber (1785, 4:790) separated the Asiatic and North American chipmunks into the Asiatic and American varieties. Gmelin (1788:50) followed Schreber and, employing trinomials, used the names Sciurus striatus asiaticus and S. s. americanus. Illiger (1811:83) proposed Tamias as the generic name of the chipmunk of eastern North America. Say (1823:45) described Sciurus quadrivittatus, the first species of chipmunk known from western North America. Merriam (1897:189-190) raised Eutamias to full generic rank. In so doing he neither listed nor described any characters but wrote that it will be observed that the name Eutamias, proposed by Trouessart in 1880 as a subgenus of Tamias is here adopted as a full genus. This is because of the conviction that the superficial resemblance between the two groups is accidental parallelism, in no way indicative of affinity. In fact the two groups, if my notion of their relationship is correct, had different ancestors, Tamias being an offshoot of the ground-squirrels of the subgenus Ictidomys of Allen, and Eutamias of the subgenus Ammospermophilus, Merriam. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 30533
Author: White, John A.
Release Date: Nov 23, 2009
Format: eBook
Language: English