190.

Gray-collared Chipmunk

Tamias cinereicollis

French: Tamia a col gris / German: Grauhals-Backenhornchen / Spanish: Ardilla listada de collar gris

Taxonomy. Tamias cinereicollis J. A. Allen, 1890,

“San Francisco Mountain, [Coconi-

no County,] Arizona,” USA.

Two subspecies are recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

T ¢. cinereicollis J. A. Allen, 1890 -C & E Arizona, and W New Mexico (USA). T. c. cinereus Bailey, 1913 — WC New Mexico (USA).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 128.7-131-6 mm, tail 98-4-107-8 mm; weight mean 70 g. The Gray-collared Chipmunk hasfive dark stripes on dorsum, which can vary from brown to black. Sides are rufescent and face has four white stripes with a brown offset. Cheeks, neck, shoulders, and rump are pale gray and tail is gray suffused with orange-brown. Subspecies cinereus has paler, grayer pelage with small reddish patches. Chromosome number of the Gray-collared Chipmunk is 2n = 38. Karyotype is type A for Tamias and consists of four pairs of metacentric autosomes, six pairs of submetacentric autosomes, eight pairs of acrocentric autosomes, a submetacentric X chromosome, and an acrocentric Y chromosome.

Habitat. High elevation (c.1950-3440 m) forests of Pinaceae: pine (Pinus), fir (Abies), and spruce (Picea). The Gray-collared Chipmunk occurs mostly in forest edges and areas at ¢.2100-3300 m. In the lower elevations, it occurs in areas with pines, Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii, Pinaceae) or oak-juniper (Quercus, Fagaceae; Juniperus, Cupressaceae) vegetation. It appears to prefer areas with fallen logs and wood debris.

Food and Feeding. Diet includes seeds of conifers, herbaceous plants, fruits, acorns, tubers, starchy roots, legumes, fungi, insects, and avian eggs. The Gray-collared Chipmunk is a good climber and sometimes forages in tall trees. It caches food in logs, cavities, and crevices.

Breeding. Females produce onelitter a year, between April and June. Gestation lasts ¢.30 days and litter size is 4-6 young, with an average offive. Lactation lasts 41-45 days and by October young are nearly fully grown.

Activity patterns. The Gray-collared Chipmunk is diurnal and active from March to November. During winter it remains in the nest, which is constructed underground beneath stones, in hollows of trees, woodpecker cavities, under logs, stumps or tree roots. It may hibernate, but sometimes only enters torpor for a short amount of time, or may even stay active during winter, feeding on cached food. It comes above ground to forage during warm periods of winter.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Population density was estimated at 5 ind/ha in a second growth pine forest in May, but reached 12-5 ind/ha in August due to young of the year. Vocalization of the Gray-collared Chipmunk is loud and sharp, described as a shrill rapid “chip” when it is alarmed. When not alarmed,it can sit on logs or stumps and emit a mellow “chuck” sound, while flicking tail side-to-side. It has a positive response to modest forest thinning, but negative response to heavy thinning and to fire, although it can persist in moderately burned areas. It is also less common in areas where the Cliff Chipmunk (7. dorsalis) is abundant.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Graycollared Chipmunk is considered common within its distribution, and current population trend is stable. There are currently no major threats to the Gray-collared Chipmunk; however, increased knowledge ofits biology would increase our ability to detect and manage future threats.

Bibliography. Block et al. (2011), Converse, Block & White (2006), Converse, White & Block (2006), Hilton & Best (1993), Kyle & Block (2000), Thorington et al. (2012).