Rio Grande ground squirrel
{{Short description|Species of rodent}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Ictidomys parvidens.jpg
| genus = Ictidomys
| species = parvidens
| authority = (Mearns, 1896)
| synonyms = * Spermophilus mexicanus parvidens
}}
The Rio Grande ground squirrel (Ictidomys parvidens) is a species of squirrel in the family Sciuridae. It is found in the south-western United States (Texas and New Mexico) and in north-eastern Mexico.
Taxonomy and systematics
The Rio Grande ground squirrel was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the Mexican ground squirrel and, along with the other species of the genus Ictidomys, was classified in the much larger genus Spermophilus,{{MSW3|id=12401047}} until DNA sequencing of the cytochrome b gene showed that this group was paraphyletic to the prairie dogs and marmots,{{cite journal| first1 = Matthew D. |last1=Herron|first2=Todd A. |last2=Castoe|first3= Christopher L. |last3=Parkinson| year = 2004| title = Sciurid phylogeny and the paraphyly of Holarctic ground squirrels (Spermophilus) | journal = Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | volume = 31| issue = 3 | pmid=15120398 | doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2003.09.015 | pages=1015–30}} and could therefore no longer be retained as a single genus. As a result, Ictidomys is now considered as a genus in its own right.{{cite journal|author1=Helgen, Kristofer M. |author2=Cole, F. Russel |author3=Helgen, Lauren E. |author4=Wilson, Don E |url=http://www.mammalsociety.org/uploads/Helgen%20et%20al%202009.pdf|year=2009|title=Generic Revision in the Holarctic Ground Squirrel Genus Spermophilus|journal=Journal of Mammalogy|volume=90|issue=2|pages=270–305|doi=10.1644/07-MAMM-A-309.1|s2cid=28483038 |doi-access=free}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q16753923}}
Category:Mammals described in 1896
Category:Taxa named by Edgar Alexander Mearns
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