Nototamias is a genus of fossil ground squirrel

Ground squirrel

The ground squirrels are members of the squirrel family of rodents which generally live on or in the ground, rather than trees. The term is most often used for the medium-sized ground squirrels, as the larger ones are more commonly known as marmots or prairie dogs, while the smaller and less...

s from the Miocene

Miocene

The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...

 of North America. Species include Nototamias hulberti Pratt and Morgan, 1989; Nototamias ateles (Hall, 1930); and Nototamias complicatus Korth, 1992. Although the genus, characterized by fused roots on the lower cheekteeth, is often regarded as closely related to the chipmunk

Chipmunk

Chipmunks are small striped squirrels native to North America and Asia. They are usually classed either as a single genus with three subgenera, or as three genera.-Etymology and taxonomy:...

s, and N. ateles has even been regarded as a species of Tamias, evidence for this relationship is poor and Nototamias may instead be near the origin of the Marmotini.

Literature cited

• Goodwin, H.T. 2008. Sciuridae. Pp. 255–376 in Janis, C.M., Gunnell, G.F. and Uhen, M.D. (eds.). Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of North America. Volume 2: Small Mammals, Xenarthrans, and Marine Mammals. Cambridge University Press, 802 pp. ISBN 978-0521781176