Spermophilus (Spermophilus) elegans Kennicott 1863

Spermophilus (Spermophilus) elegans Kennicott 1863, Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia: 158.

Type Locality: "Fort Bridger," [Uinta Co., Wyoming, USA].

Vernacular Names: Wyoming Ground Squirrel.

Subspecies::

Subspecies Spermophilus (Spermophilus) elegans subsp. elegans Kennicott 1863

Subspecies Spermophilus (Spermophilus) elegans subsp. aureus Davis 1939

Subspecies Spermophilus (Spermophilus) elegans subsp. nevadensis A. H. Howell 1928

Distribution: NE Nevada, SE Oregon, S Idaho, and SW Montana to C Colorado and W Nebraska (USA).

Conservation: IUCN – Data Deficient as S. e. nevadensis; otherwise Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Subgenus Spermophilus (Hall, 1981:385) . Regarded by A. H. Howell (1938) and Hall (1981:385) as a subspecies of richardsonii; but Nadler et al. (1971 a), Robinson and Hoffmann (1975), Koeppl et al. (1978) and Fagerstone (1982) provided evidence of specific distinctness and included aureus and nevadensis in elegans . Sequence data (Harrison et al., 2003) support this. Reviewed by Zegers (1984, Mammalian Species No. 214).