NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Unstriped Ground Squirrel
Xerus (Xerus) rutilus (Cretzschmar, 1828)
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.
Unstriped Ground Squirrel.
Gary M. Stolz · Public domain · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The unstriped ground squirrel (Xerus rutilus) is a species of rodent (order Rodentia) in the family Sciuridae. It is the only member of the genus Xerus. It is found in Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Its natural habitats are dry savanna and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.
Wikipedia contributors, Unstriped ground squirrel; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T11:08:42.888252+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Xerus (Xerus) rutilus (Cretzschmar, 1828)
- Name authority
- (Cretzschmar, 1828)
- Common name
- Unstriped Ground Squirrel
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Sciuridae
- Genus
- Xerus
- 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
- tribeXerini Osborn, 1910
- genusXerus Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1833
- subgenusXerus Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1833
- speciesXerus (Xerus) rutilus (Cretzschmar, 1828)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Xerus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Damara Ground SquirrelXerus (Geosciurus) princeps (Thomas, 1929) | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Striped Ground SquirrelXerus (Euxerus) erythropus (É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1803) | 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=632486 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:5CDPC. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.