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Xerus (African ground squirrel)

Mammalia - Rodentia - Sciuridae

Taxonomy
Xerus was named by Hemprich and Ehrenberg (1833). It is extant.

It was assigned to Sciuridae by McKenna and Bell (1997); and to Xerini by Mercer and Roth (2003).

Synonymy list
YearName and author
1833Xerus Hemprich and Ehrenberg
1997Xerus McKenna and Bell
2003Xerus Mercer and Roth

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
Bilateria
EubilateriaAx 1987
Life
Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
Tetrapoda
Reptiliomorpha
Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
Cotylosauria()
Amniota
subclassSynapsida
Therapsida()
infraorderCynodontia()
Mammaliamorpha
RankNameAuthor
Mammaliaformes
classMammalia
Theriamorpha(Rowe 1993)
Theriiformes()
Trechnotheria
Cladotheria
Zatheria
subclassTribosphenida()
subclassTheria
Eutheria()
Placentalia
Boreoeutheria
EuarchontogliresMurphy et al. 2001
GliriformesWyss and Meng 1996
Glires()
Simplicidentata()
orderRodentiaBowdich 1821
superfamilySciuroidea
familySciuridae
tribeXerini
genusXerusHemprich and Ehrenberg 1833

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

G. Xerus Hemprich and Ehrenberg 1833 [African ground squirrel]
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Xerus inauris Zimmermann 1893 [Cape ground squirrel]
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Invalid names: Myoxus africanus Shaw 1801 [objective synonym], Sciurus capensis Kerr 1792 [objective synonym]
Diagnosis
No diagnoses are available
Measurements
No measurements are available
Composition: phosphaticsubp
Environment: terrestrialsubc
Locomotion: actively mobilec
Life habit: semifossorialg
Diet: granivoref
Diet 2: frugivoref
Reproduction: viviparoussubc
Created: 2012-05-15 12:58:54
Modified: 2012-05-14 21:58:54
Source: g = genus, f = family, subc = subclass, c = class, subp = subphylum
References: Hendy et al. 2009, Ji et al. 2002, Nowak 1991, Lillegraven 1979, Samuels and Van Valkenburgh 2008, Carroll 1988

Age range

Maximum range based only on fossils: base of the MN 4 to the top of the Holocene or 16.90000 to 0.00000 Ma
Minimum age of oldest fossil (stem group age): 15.97 Ma

Collections (15 total)


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
MN 416.9 - 15.97France (Midi-Pyrénées) Xerus grivensis (71873)
Late/Upper Miocene - Early/Lower Pliocene11.608 - 3.6Chad Xerus sp. (24181)
Messinian7.246 - 5.333Chad Xerus sp. (59839)
Pliocene5.333 - 2.588Tanzania (Eastern Drift Valley) Xerus janenschi, Xerus sp. (32050)
Late/Upper Pliocene - Piacenzian3.6 - 2.588Ethiopia Xerus erythropus (21546)
Piacenzian3.6 - 2.588Ethiopia Xerus sp. (21784)
Piacenzian3.6 - 2.588Tanzania Xerus janenschi (21831) Xerus sp. (21813)
Gelasian2.588 - 1.806Ethiopia Xerus erythropus (21632) Xerus sp. (21545 21625 21627)
Gelasian2.588 - 1.806Tanzania Xerus janenschi (21804 21805)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Cote D'Ivoire Xerus erythropus (21692)