black-tailed prairie dog (Phoenix Zoo - Arizona Trail)

black-tailed prairie dog

Cynomys ludovicianus

Summary ⁵

The black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus), is a rodent of the family Sciuridae found in the Great Plains of North America from about the USA-Canada border to the USA-Mexico border. Unlike some other prairie dogs, these animals do not truly hibernate. The black-tailed prairie dog can be seen above ground in midwinter. A black-tailed prairie dog town in Texas was reported to cover 64,000 km2 (25,000 sq mi) and included 400,000,000 individuals. Prior to habitat destruction, this species may...

Range description ⁶

This is primarily a Great Plains species, originally occurring from extreme southern Saskatchewan in Canada (Frenchman River Valley), and Montana south through the western and central Great Plains to the desert grasslands of western Texas, New Mexico, southeastern Arizona (formerly) in the United States, and northeastern Sonora, and northern Chihuahua in Mexico (Koford 1958). The species is now extirpated from southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and locally in many other areas throughout its range.

Iucn red list assessment ⁷

Red List Category

Least Concern

Red List Criteria

Version

3.1

Year Assessed

2008

Assessor/s

Linzey, A.V. & NatureServe (Reichel, J.D., Hammerson, G., Cannings, S. & Wallace, R.)

Reviewer/s

Amori, G., Koprowski, J. & Roth, L. (Small Nonvolant Mammal Red List Authority)

Contributor/s

Justification

Listed as Least Concern because it is very widespread, there are estimated to be millions of individuals, and its populations are not declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category. Although it has declined in many parts of its range, there are parts of its range where they are not affected by any threats at present.

Fuentes y créditos

(c) Arthur Chapman, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-NC-SA), http://www.flickr.com/photos/32005048@N06/3825518952
(c) Arthur Chapman, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-NC-SA), http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2689/4024233762_db6e04d2a7.jpg
Hollingsworth, John and Karen, sin restricciones conocidas de derechos (dominio publico), https://www.biolib.cz/IMG/GAL/21547.jpg
(c) Arthur Chapman, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-NC-SA), http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2574/4010106750_dfacbe3796.jpg
(c) Wikipedia, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynomys_ludovicianus
(c) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/28083586
(c) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/28083585