NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Red-cheeked Ground Squirrel
Spermophilus erythrogenys Brandt, 1841
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.
Spermophilus erythrogenys
Gustav Mützel · Public domain · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The red-cheeked ground squirrel (Spermophilus erythrogenys) is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is commonly referred to as the red-cheeked ground souslik and there are several recognized subspecies. It is found in central Asia. Spermophilus brunnescens (Belyaev, 1943), Spermophilus heptneri (Vasil'eva, 1964) and Spermophilus ungae (Martino, 1923) are accepted as synonyms. There is some controversy over whether Spermophilus pallidicauda and Spermophilus brevicauda should be regarded as synonyms or full species.
Wikipedia contributors, Red-cheeked ground squirrel; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T11:46:54.422688+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Spermophilus erythrogenys Brandt, 1841
- Name authority
- Brandt, 1841
- Common name
- Red-cheeked 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 erythrogenys Brandt, 1841
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 |
| Little Ground SquirrelSpermophilus pygmaeus (Pallas, 1778) | 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 |
| 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 |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Spermophilus heptneri (Vasil'eva, 1964) (Vasil'eva, 1964) | synonym |
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=632448 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:6Z8WZ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.