Tamias is a genus of chipmunks in the tribe Marmotini of the squirrel family. The genus includes a single living species, the eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus).[1] The genus name Tamias (Greek: ταμίας) means "treasurer", "steward", or "housekeeper",[2] which is a reference to the animals' role in plant dispersal through their habit of collecting and storing food for winter use.[3]
Caged Tamias chipmunk, Tokyo area
The genus Tamias was formerly divided into three subgenera that, in sum, included all chipmunk species: Tamias, the eastern chipmunk and other fossil species; Eutamias, of which the Siberian chipmunk (E. sibiricus) is the only living member; and Neotamias, which includes the 23 remaining, mostly western, species. These classifications are subjective, and most taxonomies over the twentieth century have placed the chipmunks in a single genus. However, studies of mitochondrial DNA show that the divergence between each of the three chipmunk groups is comparable to the genetic dissimilarity between Marmota and Spermophilus,[4][5][6][7] so they are now often considered as separate genera.
In addition to the eastern chipmunk, some fossil species from Eurasia have been assigned to this genus:
†Tamias allobrogensis; Mein and Ginsburg, 2002 – Miocene of France[8]
†Tamias atsali; De Bruijn, 1995 – Pliocene of Greece[9]
†Tamias eviensis; De Bruijn et al., 1980 – Miocene of Greece[10]
†Tamias urialis; Munthe, 1980, described from the Miocene of Pakistan, may be more closely related to Tamiops.[11]
One American fossil species, †Tamias aristus from the late Pleistocene, has been identified.[12]
^Musser et al., 2010, p. 22
^Henry George Liddell; Robert Scott. (1940). A Greek-English Lexicon, revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones with the assistance of Roderick McKenzie. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
^Wilson, D. E.; D. M. Reeder (2005). "Mammal Species of the World". Archived from the original on 2007-06-23. Retrieved 2007-06-27.
^Piaggio, A. J.; Spicer, G. S. (2001). "Molecular phylogeny of the chipmunks inferred from mitochondrial cytochrome b and cytochrome oxidase II gene sequences" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 20 (3): 335–350. doi:10.1006/mpev.2001.0975. PMID 11527462. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-08-23. Retrieved 2018-11-02.
^Piaggio, Antoinette J.; Spicer, Greg S. (2000). "Molecular Phylogeny of the Chipmunk Genus Tamias Based on the Mitochondrial Cytochrome Oxidase Subunit II Gene" (PDF). Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 7 (3): 147–166. doi:10.1023/a:1009484302799. S2CID 7623018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-09-13. Retrieved 2018-11-02.
^Musser, G. G.; Durden, L. A.; Holden, M. E.; Light, J. E. (2010). "Systematic review of endemic Sulawesi squirrels (Rodentia, Sciuridae), with descriptions of new species of associated sucking lice (Insecta, Anoplura), and phylogenetic and zoogeographic assessments of sciurid lice". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 339 (339): 1–260. doi:10.1206/695.1. hdl:2246/6067. S2CID 82712592.
^Mein and Ginsburg, 2002
^De Bruijn, 1995
^Doukas, 2003, table 2
^Qiu et al., 2008, p. 115
^Ray, Clayton E (September 1965). "A New Chipmunk, Tamias aristus, from the Pleistocene of Georgia". Journal of Paleontology. 39 (5): 1016–1022. JSTOR 3555320.
includes a single living species, the eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus). The genus name Tamias (Greek: ταμίας) means "treasurer", "steward", or "housekeeper"...
Tamia Marilyn Washington Hill (born May 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Windsor, Ontario, Tamia performed in various singing...
eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus) is a chipmunk species found in eastern North America. It is the only living member of the genus Tamias. The name "chipmunk"...
Asia. Chipmunks may be classified either as a single genus, Tamias, or as three genera: Tamias, of which the eastern chipmunk (T. striatus) is the only living...
ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. "Tamias sibericus". Encyclopedia of Life. Retrieved February 27, 2014. "Tamias sibiricus (Siberian chipmunk)". Invasive...
Canadian singer and songwriter Tamia has released nine albums (including seven studio albums, one extended play, and one compilation albums), and twenty-six...
charge of a household, but it is more likely that "tamia" as used by Meres in this case is a form of "tamias", a dispenser, steward or treasurer, and here...
Robert S. (1991). "Distribution and Diagnosis of Three Species of Chipmunks (Tamias) in the Front Range of Colorado". The Southwestern Naturalist. 36 (1): 14...
less bushy-tailed ground squirrels tend to be known as chipmunks (genus Tamias). Together, they make up the "marmot tribe" of squirrels, Marmotini, a clade...
Bulletin. Wikispecies has information related to Tamias alpinus. Hole Jr., Robert. "Alpine Chipmunk Tamias alpinus". Encyclopedia of Life Field Guides. Archived...
that of other subspecies. "Tamias striatus ohioensis". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 2023-05-26. "Tamias striatus ohioensis". Integrated...
Tamias aristus is an extinct species of chipmunk that lived during the late Pleistocene epoch. It was characterized from a fossilized skull found in a...
the Siberian chipmunk Tamias sibiricus, first described (as Sciurus sibiricus) by explorer Erich Gustav Laxmann in 1769, Tamias (Eutamias) sibiricus lineatus...
family Sciuridae. It is endemic to the United States. Formerly known as Tamias umbrinus, phylogenetic studies have shown it to be sufficiently distinct...
Sydney Tamiia Poitier (/ˈpwɑːtjeɪ/ PWAH-tyay; born 1973/1974) is an American-Canadian television and film actress. Born in Los Angeles on November 15,...
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