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The European ground squirrel (''Spermophilus citellus''), also known as the European souslik, is a species from the squirrel family Sciuridae. It and the speckled ground squirrel (''Spermophilus suslicus'') are the only European representatives of the genus ''Spermophilus''. Like all squirrels, it is a member of the rodent order. It is to be found throughout eastern Europe from southern Ukraine, to Asia Minor, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia and north as far as Poland but the range is divided in two parts by the Carpathian Mountains. The European ground squirrel grows to a length of approximately and a weight of approximately . It is a diurnal animal, living in colonies of individual burrows in pastures or grassy embankments. The squirrels emerge during the day to feed upon seeds, plant shoots and roots or flightless invertebrates. The colonies maintain sentinels who whistle at the sight of a predator, bringing the pack scurrying back to safety. Breeding takes place in early summer when a single litter of five to eight young is borne. The European ground squirrel hibernates between autumn and March, the length of time depending on the climate. In preparation they will build up reserves of brown fat during the late summer. ==Description== The European ground squirrel is about the size of a brown rat, with an adult measuring and a weight of . It has a slender build with a short bushy tail. The short dense fur is yellowish-grey, tinged with red, with a few indistinct pale and dark spots on the back. The underside is pale with a sandy-coloured abdomen. The large dark eyes are placed high on the head and the small, rounded ears are hidden in the fur. The dental formula is 1/1, 0/0, 2/1, 3/3. The legs are powerful with sharp claws well adapted for digging. Males are slightly larger than females otherwise they look alike. The European ground squirrel has a shrill alarm call that will cause all other individuals in the vicinity to dive for cover. It also makes various soft chirruping and growling noises.〔 The European ground squirrel could be confused with the speckled ground squirrel which occurs in Poland (Lublin Voivodeship), Romania, Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, but that species has dark brown fur spotted with white and a thin tail and lives in areas with coarser vegetation. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「European ground squirrel」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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