Spermophilus (Spermophilus) ralli Kuznetsov 1948

Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Rodentia - Family Sciuridae, Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 2, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 754-818 : 810

Spermophilus (Spermophilus) ralli Kuznetsov 1948

Spermophilus (Spermophilus) ralli Kuznetsov 1948 , Zveri Kirgizii [Animals of Kirgiziya, Moscow Soc. of Naturalists]: 39.

Type Locality: "Tip iz kotlovinny Oz. Issyk-Kul’" [Type from basin of lake Issyk-Kul’] ( Kuznetsov, 1965:264).

Vernacular Names: Tien Shan Ground Squirrel.

Distribution: Mountains and valleys surrounding the eastern end of the Issyk-Kul’ valley, from the Terskii-Alatau in the southeast to the Ketmen’ Alatau in the northeast. Its range is separated from that of S. relictus , which occupies the western Tien Shan.

Discussion: This species is usually included in S. relictus as an allopatric subspecies, but molecular sequence data indicate that the two taxa are separate ( Harrison et al., 2003). Kuznetsov’s name is regarded as having priority over ralli (Heptner, 1948; a replacement name for pygmaeus arenicola; and thus preoccupied), but Pavlinov and Rossolimo (1987) indicated that Kuznetsov (1948) might not have been published in May, but later, in July-August, while pygmaeus ralli was published in May, 1948. If so, Kuznetsov, 1948 is preoccupied.