Tamias sonomae (Grinnell, 1915)
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6840226 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6840629 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/064D0660-FF9C-ED62-FACF-F8EFFB8EF582 |
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treatment provided by |
Diego |
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scientific name |
Tamias sonomae |
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Sonoma Chipmunk
French: Tamia de Sonoma / German: Sonoma-Backenhornchen / Spanish: Ardilla listada de Sonoma
Taxonomy. Eutamias sonomae Grinnell, 1915 ,
“One mile [1:6 km] west of Guernev-
ille, Sonoma County, California.” (USA).
Two subspecies are recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution.
T.s.sonomaeGrinnell,1915—SiskiyouCountytoSanFranciscoBay,NWCalifornia(USA).
T. s. allen: A. H. Howell, 1922 — in a small area near San Francisco Bay, California (USA).
Descriptive notes. Head-body 133-2-138-3 mm, tail 106-4-111-6 mm; weight mean 70 g. The Sonoma Chipmunk is probably a member of the townsendi: group, and can be recognized by its large size, reddish pelage, and white trim on its tail. Nominate sonomae has a paler head and venter than alleni. Subspecies alleni is smaller. Chromosome number of the Sonoma Chipmunk is 2n = 38. Karyotypeis type B for Tamias and consists of five pairs of metacentric autosomes, six pairs of submetacentric autosomes, seven pairs of acrocentric autosomes, a submetacentric X chromosome, and an acrocentric Y chromosome.
Habitat. Upper Sonoran to transition life zone, in elevations below c.1800 m. The Sonoma Chipmunk occurs in several types of habitats, such as open redwood forests (Sequoia sempervirens, Cupressaceae), dry low-elevation stands of Pinaceae: ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), white fir (Abies concolor), red fir (A. magnifica), digger pine (Pinus sabiniana), as well as brushy open fields, riparian forests, and in scrub oak (Quercus, Fagaceae) vegetation, such as chaparral.
Food and Feeding. The Sonoma Chipmunk likely consumes conifer seeds, acorns of scrub oaks, and seeds and leaves of other chaparral plants.
Breeding. Breeding season occurs in spring, and females produce a litter of 3-5 young, once per year. Populations at sea level can reproduce earlier in year than populations living at higher elevations.
Activity patterns. The Sonoma Chipmunk is diurnal and terrestrial, and produces alarm calls when threatened. Females call more frequently than males.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. After weaning, female juveniles often stay at the nest, whereas male juveniles disperse. It is hypothesized that this differential dispersal system and resulting female kin clusters have facilitated evolution of the alarm calling behavior by kin selection.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The current population trend is stable and there are no specific threats across the Sonoma Chipmunk’s distribution. Because it is restricted to a small geographic area, large scale environmental changes within this area could have an impact.
Bibliography. Best (1993e), Casher et al. (2002), Davis et al. (2008), Linzey & NatureServe (Hammerson) (2008ad), Rejmanek et al. (2012), da Silva et al. (2002), Thorington et al. (2012).
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.
