NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Little Ground Squirrel
Spermophilus pygmaeus (Pallas, 1778)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Little Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus pygmaeus)
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Open encyclopedia reference
The little ground squirrel or little souslik (Spermophilus pygmaeus) is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is found from Eastern Europe to Central Asia.
Its subspecies include Spermophilus pygmaeus pygmaeus, Spermophilus pygmaeus brauneri, Spermophilus pygmaeus herbicolus and Spermophilus pygmaeus mugosaricus. The Caucasian mountain ground squirrel (Spermophilus musicus) is now considered to be a separate species.
Wikipedia contributors, Little ground squirrel; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T09:45:24.327924+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Spermophilus pygmaeus (Pallas, 1778)
- Name authority
- (Pallas, 1778)
- Common name
- Little Ground Squirrel
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Sciuridae
- Genus
- Spermophilus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderRodentia Bowdich, 1821
- suborderSciuromorpha Brandt, 1855
- familySciuridae Fischer de Waldheim, 1817
- subfamilyXerinae Osborn, 1910
- tribeMarmotini Pocock, 1923
- genusSpermophilus F. Cuvier, 1825
- speciesSpermophilus pygmaeus (Pallas, 1778)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Spermophilus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Alashan Ground SquirrelSpermophilus alashanicus Büchner, 1888 | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Tien Shan Ground SquirrelSpermophilus ralli (Kuznetsov, 1948) | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Speckled Ground SquirrelSpermophilus suslicus (Güldenstaedt, 1770) | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Taurus Ground SquirrelSpermophilus taurensis Gündüz, Jaarola, Tez, Yeniyurt, Polly, & Searle, 2007 | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Red-cheeked Ground SquirrelSpermophilus erythrogenys Brandt, 1841 | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Russet Ground SquirrelSpermophilus major (Pallas, 1778) | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Relict Ground SquirrelSpermophilus relictus (Kashkarov, 1923) | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Asia Minor Ground SquirrelSpermophilus xanthoprymnus (Bennett, 1835) | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=632454 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4YKB3. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.