Family: Sciuridae, Squirrels view all from this family
Description Grayish brown above; belly white. Stripes indistinct, nearly equal in width: dark stripes gray or brown, usually not black; pale stripes grayish. Dull black spots in front of and behind eyes; brownish stripe below ear. Long tail edged with buff or white. L 8 1/4–11" (208–280 mm); T 3 1/2–5 1/2" (89–140 mm); HF 1 1/4–1 1/2" (32–39 mm); Wt 2 1/2–4 oz (71–113 g).
Similar Species California Chipmunk is paler and less yellowish, with more reddish in dark stripes. Long-eared Chipmunk has dark stripe below ear and white patch behind it. Both Lodgepole and Yellow-pine chipmunks have distinct back stripes.
Breeding 1 litter of 3–6 young born April–July (earlier at lower elevations), in a nest in an underground tunnel or cavity or in a woodpecker hole. Gestation about 30 days. Nest young make soft mewing notes; they become active outside the nest at about 30 days.
Habitat Most abundant at upper edge of chaparral and in rocky scrub; also brushlands, forested foothills, or coniferous or pinyon-juniper forests in lower mountains to elevations of about 7,000' (2,100 m).
Range Central and s California.
Discussion Evidence indicates that over part of its range Merriam’s Chipmunk occurs in two very similar forms that remain distinct. They can be distinguished by skull and penis bone characteristics, and by their appearance. The form found in the Eagle, San Bernardino, Little San Bernardino, San Jacinto, and Santa Rosa mountain areas is paler in summer, with the dark stripes on its back more reddish, than the typical form of Merriam’s Chipmunk.
