| Notocitellus | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Sciuridae |
| Tribe: | Marmotini |
| Genus: | Notocitellus A. H. Howell, 1938 |
| Species | |
Notocitellus is a genus of ground squirrels, containing two species. These species are the tropical ground squirrel (Notocitellus adocetus), and the ring-tailed ground squirrel (N. annulatus). Notocitellus was formerly placed in the large ground squirrel genus Spermophilus, as a subgenus or species group. Since DNA sequencing of the cytochrome b gene has shown Spermophilus to be paraphyletic to the marmots, antelope squirrels, and prairie dogs,[1] it is now separated, along with six other genera.[2] The exact relations of this genus are unclear, though a relation to the antelope squirrels is possible.[2]
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