Otospermophilus
| Otospermophilus | |
|---|---|
| Rock squirrel at the Grand Canyon | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Sciuridae |
| Tribe: | Marmotini |
| Genus: | Otospermophilus Brandt, 1844 |
| Type species | |
| Sciurus grammurus | |
| Species | |
Otospermophilus is a genus of ground squirrels in the family Sciuridae, containing three species from Mexico and the United States. Otospermophilus 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 prairie dogs and marmots, it is now separated, along with six other genera.