Russet ground squirrel

Russet ground squirrel
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Sciuridae
Genus: Spermophilus
Species:
S. major
Binomial name
Spermophilus major
(Pallas, 1778)
Synonyms
  • S. argyropuloi (Bazhanov, 1947)
  • S. rufescens (Keyserling and Blasius, 1840)
  • S. selevini (Argyropulo, 1941)

The russet ground squirrel (Spermophilus major) is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is also known as the hibernating large ground squirrel and the large-toothed souslik. It is found in west central Asia where its natural habitat is temperate grassland.