Spermophilus (Spermophilus) alashanicus Büchner 1888

Spermophilus (Spermophilus) alashanicus Büchner 1888, Wiss. Res. Przewalski Cent. Asien Zool., I: (Saugeth.): 11.

Type Locality: "Southern Ala Shan" [Desert, China] (Ognev, 1963 a:150) .

Vernacular Names: Alashan Ground Squirrel.

Synonyms: Spermophilus (Spermophilus) dilutus (Formozov 1929); Spermophilus (Spermophilus) obscurus Büchner 1888; Spermophilus (Spermophilus) siccus (G. M. Allen 1925) .

Distribution: SC Mongolia; Ala Shan and E Nan Shan (N China).

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Subgenus Spermophilus (Gromov et al. 1965:208) . Placed by Corbet (1978 c) in dauricus; Orlov and Davaa (1975) provided evidence of specific distinctness. Molecular sequence data (Harrison et al., 2003) suggest a sister species relationship with pallidicauda .