NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Russet Ground Squirrel
Spermophilus major (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.
годовалый самец большого суслика.
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Open encyclopedia reference
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.
Wikipedia contributors, Russet ground squirrel; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T09:47:16.266505+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Spermophilus major (Pallas, 1778)
- Name authority
- (Pallas, 1778)
- Common name
- Russet 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 major (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 |
| 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 |
| Red-cheeked Ground SquirrelSpermophilus erythrogenys Brandt, 1841 | 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=632451 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:6Z998. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.