Franklin's ground squirrel (Poliocitellus franklinii) is a species native to tallgrass American prairie

Prairie

Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...

, from Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 to the northcentral United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

The species hibernates from early fall to spring, and bears a litter of 6–8 pups at a time. The species is not choosy in its diet, eschewing the typical herbivorous diet of most squirrel

Squirrel

Squirrels belong to a large family of small or medium-sized rodents called the Sciuridae. The family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots , flying squirrels, and prairie dogs. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa and have been introduced to Australia...

s when it can find insects, eggs, young birds, and fruits, seeds, and nuts when they are available.

Due to the destruction of prairie, the populations of Franklin's ground squirrel have dwindled, approaching levels of concern. However, the species is prolific, and locally abundant.

Taxonomy

Franklin's ground squirrel was first described by Joseph Sabine

Joseph Sabine

Joseph Sabine was an English lawyer, naturalist and writer on horticulture.He was born into a prominent Anglo-Irish family in Tewin, Hertfordshire, the eldest son of Joseph Sabine. His younger brother was Sir Edward Sabine....

 in 1822, who named it in honor of the British

British people

The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...

 Arctic explorer

Arctic exploration

Arctic exploration is the physical exploration of the Arctic region of the Earth. The region that surrounds the North Pole. It refers to the historical period during which mankind has explored the region north of the Arctic Circle...

 Sir John Franklin. It was formerly placed in the large ground squirrel genus Spermophilus

Spermophilus

Spermophilus is a genus of ground squirrels in the family Sciuridae. The majority of ground squirrel species, over 40 in total, are usually placed in this genus...

, in its own subgenus, Poliocitellus, but since DNA sequencing

DNA sequencing

DNA sequencing includes several methods and technologies that are used for determining the order of the nucleotide bases—adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine—in a molecule of DNA....

 of the cytochrome b

Cytochrome b

Cytochrome b/b6 is the main subunit of transmembrane cytochrome bc1 and b6f complexes. In addition, it commonly refers to a region of mtDNA used for population genetics and phylogenetics.- Function :...

 gene has shown Spermophilus to be paraphyletic

Paraphyly

A group of taxa is said to be paraphyletic if the group consists of all the descendants of a hypothetical closest common ancestor minus one or more monophyletic groups of descendants...

 it is now placed in its own genus. Franklin's ground squirrel is suggested to be sister to a clade

Cladistics

Cladistics is a method of classifying species of organisms into groups called clades, which consist of an ancestor organism and all its descendants . For example, birds, dinosaurs, crocodiles, and all descendants of their most recent common ancestor form a clade...

 containing not only the Mohave

Mohave Ground Squirrel

The Mohave ground squirrel is a species of ground squirrel found only in the Mojave Desert in California. The squirrel was discovered in 1886 by Frank Stephens of San Diego The Mohave ground squirrel (Xerospermophilus mohavensis) is a species of ground squirrel found only in the Mojave Desert in...

, round-tailed

Round-tailed Ground Squirrel

The round-tailed ground squirrel , known as "Ardillón cola redonda" in Spanish, live in the desert of the Southwestern United States and adjacent Mexico. They are called "ground squirrels" because they burrow in loose soil, often under mesquite trees and creosote bushes.-Characteristics:Most...

, spotted

Spotted Ground Squirrel

The spotted ground squirrel is a species of rodent in the Sciuridae family. It is found in Mexico and the United States....

, and Perote ground squirrel

Perote Ground Squirrel

The Perote ground squirrel is a species of rodent in the Sciuridae family. It is endemic to Mexico. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland....

s (genus Xerospermophilus

Xerospermophilus

Xerospermophilus is a genus of ground squirrels in the family Sciuridae, containing four species. The members of this genus were formerly placed in the large ground squirrel genus Spermophilus. Since DNA sequencing of the cytochrome b gene has shown Spermophilus to be paraphyletic to the prairie...

), but the prairie dog

Prairie dog

Prairie dogs are burrowing rodents native to the grasslands of North America. There are five different species of prairie dogs: black-tailed, white-tailed, Gunnison's, Utah and Mexican prairie dogs. They are a type of ground squirrel, found in the United States, Canada and Mexico...

s as well. There are no commonly-recognized subspecies.