Marmot

? Marmots Fossil range: Late Miocene - Recent
Groundhog, Marmota monax
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Rodentia Family: Sciuridae Subfamily: Sciurinae Genus: Marmota
Species
See text.

Marmots are members of the genus Marmota, in the rodent family Sciuridae (squirrels).

Marmots are generally large ground squirrels. Those most often referred to as marmots tend to live in mountainous areas such as the Sierra Nevadas in the United States or the European Alps. However the groundhog is also properly called a marmot, and the prairie dog is also better called a "prairie marmot", though it is not classified in the genus Marmota but in the closely related genus Cynomys.

Marmots typically live in burrows, and hibernate there through the winter. Most marmots are highly social, and use loud whistles to communicate with one another, especially when alarmed.

Interestingly, marmots, rather than rats, were the primary carriers of the Bubonic plague during several historic outbreaks.

Some species of marmot

• Gray Marmot or Altai Marmot Marmota baibacina Siberia
• Bobak Marmot Marmota bobak Central Europe to Central Asia
• Alaska Marmot, Brower's Marmot or Brook's Range Marmot Marmota broweri Nearctic
• Hoary Marmot Marmota caligata North western North America
• Black-Capped Marmot Marmota camtschatica Eastern Siberia
• Red Marmot, Golden Marmot or Long-Tailed Marmot Marmota caudata Central Asia
• Yellow-Bellied Marmot Marmota flaviventris South western Canada, Western United States
• Himalayan marmot or Tibetan Snow Pig Marmota himalayana Himalaya
• Alpine Marmot Marmota marmota Central and Western European Alps, introduced into the Pyrenees.
• Menzbier's Marmot Marmota menzbieri Central Asia
• Woodchuck, Groundhog, or Whistlepig Marmota monax North America
• Olympic Marmot Marmota olympus Olympic Peninsula, Washington, USA
• Tarvaga, Tarbagan or Mongolian Marmot Marmota sibirica, Siberia
• Vancouver Island Marmot Marmota vancouverensis Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada

This is a non-exhaustive list of subspecies.

At Cedar Breaks, a marmot's (lower right) natural camouflage hides it in a pile of rocks, a common habitat.

Yellow-Bellied Marmot in Glacier National Park (Canada)

A Hoary Marmot in Mt. Rainier National Park