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Tamias (chipmunk)
Taxonomy
Tamias was named by Illinger (1811). It is extant.
It was assigned to Agilia by Illiger (1811); to Sciurina by Gray (1825); to Sciurinae by Hay (1902); to Tamiini by de Bruijn et al. (1980); to Marmotini by Mercer and Roth (2003); and to Sciuridae by Illinger (1811), Bryant (1945), Ray (1965), Wilson (1967), Kurten and Anderson (1980), McKenna and Bell (1997), Eshelman et al. (2025).
It was assigned to Agilia by Illiger (1811); to Sciurina by Gray (1825); to Sciurinae by Hay (1902); to Tamiini by de Bruijn et al. (1980); to Marmotini by Mercer and Roth (2003); and to Sciuridae by Illinger (1811), Bryant (1945), Ray (1965), Wilson (1967), Kurten and Anderson (1980), McKenna and Bell (1997), Eshelman et al. (2025).
Species lacking formal opinion data
Synonymy list
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 1811 | Tamias Illiger p. 83 |
| 1811 | Tamias Illinger |
| 1825 | Tamia Gray p. 342 |
| 1902 | Tamias Hay p. 720 |
| 1945 | Tamias Bryant p. 371 |
| 1965 | Tamias Ray |
| 1967 | Tamias Wilson p. 208 |
| 1980 | Tamias Kurten and Anderson p. 220 |
| 1980 | Tamias de Bruijn et al. p. 255 |
| 1997 | Tamias McKenna and Bell |
| 2003 | Tamias Mercer and Roth |
| 2025 | Tamias Eshelman et al. p. 96 |
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If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.
G. Tamias Illinger 1811 [chipmunk]
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†Tamias aristus Ray 1965
†Tamias ateles Hall 1930
†Tamias eviensis de Bruijn et al. 1980
†Tamias laevidens Cope 1869
Tamias striatus Linnaeus 1758 [eastern chipmunk]
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Invalid names: Sciurus lysteri Richardson 1829 [synonym]
Diagnosis
| Reference | Diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| M. D. Bryant 1945 | Zygomatic plate slants upward at an angle of about 45º to basicranial axis and is more nearly horizontal than in other sciurids; in correlation with this the zygoma is less concave dorsally than in other squirrels, infraorbital foramen pierces zygomatic plate, and infraorbital canal is absent. Infraorbital foramen relatively larger, probably in correlation with origin of ventral head of maxillonasalis muscle (see page 314), and more nearly circular than in other sciurids. Notches in zygomatic plates opposite P4 or occasionally oppo- site anterior edge of M1; width of plates between zygomatic notches and infraorbital foramina correspondingly narrow. Anterior cranial fossa larger than that in terrestrial sciurids, except Otospermophilus and Callospermophilus; interorbital region correspondingly broad. Cranium narrow, slightly inflated, and smoothly rounded. Dorsal outline of skull less convex than in other squirrels except Marmota. Cheek teeth low-crowned (see table 1); ectolophids low and submarginal; prominent mesoconid present on m1 and m2. Form of baculum distinctive (see page 306). |
Measurements
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| Source: f = family, subc = subclass, c = class, subp = subphylum | |||||
| References: Ji et al. 2002, Nowak 1991, Carroll 1988, Lillegraven 1979, Hendy et al. 2009 | |||||
Age range
Maximum range based only on fossils: base of the Barstovian to the top of the Holocene or 16.30000 to 0.00000 Ma
Minimum age of oldest fossil (stem group age): 15.98 Ma
Minimum age of oldest fossil (stem group age): 15.98 Ma
Collections (75 total)
| Time interval | Ma | Country or state | Original ID and collection number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burdigalian | Greece | Tamias eviensis (68032) | |
| MN 4 | Greece (Thrace) | Tamias sp. (68085) | |
| Barstovian | USA (Wyoming) | Tamias ateles (18868 18990) | |
| Barstovian | USA (Nevada) | Eutamias ateles (19097) Tamias ateles (19088) | |
| Barstovian | USA (California) | Eutamias ateles (19305 19321) Tamias ateles (19168 19169 19193 19271 19279 19281 19522 19550 19558 214888 214889) | |
| Barstovian | USA (Nebraska) | Eutamias ateles (18141 18261) Tamias sp. (18284) | |
| Middle Miocene | China (Nei Mongol) | Tamias sp. (13484) | |
| Clarendonian | USA (California) | Tamias ateles (19361 19453 19515) | |
| Clarendonian | USA (Nevada) | Tamias ateles (18845) | |
| Late/Upper Miocene | India (Punjab) | Tamias urialis (232616) | |
| Turolian | Greece (Central Macedonia) | Tamias sp. A (32189) | |
| Turolian | Greece | Tamias sp. A (31928) | |
| Turolian | Russian Federation (Rostovskaya Oblast') | Tamias sp. (174455) | |
| MN 14 | Poland | Tamias orlovi (32240) | |
| Ruscinian | Greece (Kozani) | Tamias sp. (205084) | |
| Ruscinian | Germany (Rheinland-Pfalz) | Tamias orlovi (43633) | |
| MN 15 | Poland | Tamias orlovi (33396) | |
| MN 16 | Poland | Tamias orlovi (33473 33638) | |
| Early/Lower Pleistocene | Poland | Tamias sp. (33480) | |
| Pleistocene | USA (West Virginia) | Tamias striatus (123875) | |
| Pleistocene | USA (Tennessee) | Tamias striatus (74240) | |
| Irvingtonian | USA (Virginia) | Tamias striatus (20388) | |
| Irvingtonian | USA (Pennsylvania) | Tamias striatus (20354) | |
| Irvingtonian | USA (West Virginia) | Tamias striatus (20555) | |
| Irvingtonian | USA (Maryland) | Tamias striatus (20302) | |
| Middle Pleistocene | USA (Virginia) | Tamias striatus (104662) | |
| Rancholabrean | USA (California) | Tamias sp. (240844) | |
| Late/Upper Pleistocene | USA (West Virginia) | Tamias striatus (93332 124198 124199) | |
| Late/Upper Pleistocene | USA (Oklahoma) | Tamias striatus (93183) | |
| Late/Upper Pleistocene (interglacial) | USA (Florida) | Tamias aristus (20573) | |
| Late/Upper Pleistocene | USA (Virginia) | Tamias sp., Tamias striatus (103991) Tamias striatus (82258 104758 124089) | |
| Late/Upper Pleistocene | USA (Michigan) | Tamias striatus (200485) | |
| Late/Upper Pleistocene (late glacial) | USA (Oklahoma) | Tamias striatus (74144 74145) | |
| Late/Upper Pleistocene | USA (Georgia) | Tamias aristus (13066) | |
| Late/Upper Pleistocene - Holocene | USA (Virginia) | Tamias striatus (104034 104035 104672 104689 104691) | |
| Late/Upper Pleistocene - Holocene | USA (Missouri) | Tamias striatus (63565 63566 63567 63568) | |
| Holocene | USA (Virginia) | Tamias striatus (104040) | |
| Holocene | USA (Ohio) | Tamias striatus (195062 195066 195069) | |
| Holocene | Canada (Ontario) | Tamias striatus (221863) | |
| Holocene | Canada (Quebec) | Tamias striatus (221970 224189) |