Ictidomys parvidens
Silhouette: Edwin Price · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The Rio Grande ground squirrel (Ictidomys parvidens) is a species of squirrel in the family Sciuridae. It is found in the southwestern United States (Texas and New Mexico) and in northeastern Mexico. The Rio Grande ground squirrel is predominantly brown with nine broken rows of squarish white spots on its back. Its spotting is less distinct than the spotting on the thirteen-lined ground squirrel. It varies in body length from 29.9 centimetres (11.8 in) to 35.2 centimetres (13.9 in)
The Rio Grande ground squirrel is found in grasslands and scrub habitat from southwestern New Mexico to northern Zacatecas and east to the gulf coast. In western Texas, it is often associated with mesquite and cholla. While much of its original habitat has been destroyed by humans, it has adapted well to human civilization and can now be found on golf courses and other grassy areas such as the sides of highways. Each squirrel normally has more than one burrow and each of them have as many as five escape tunnels. The tunnels are not marked by a mound of dirt on top. Most burrows have a sleeping chamber for the offspring which is lined with grasses. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monterrey | 🇲🇽 México |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Rio Grande Ground Squirrel sighting in Monterrey on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 16th most-seen of the 17 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July to September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Rio Grande Ground Squirrel in Monterrey on a given day, against under 5% in October to June, the lowest months. Those are among Monterrey's wettest months, with about 120 mm of rain a month against 20 mm in February.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rio Grande Ground Squirrel sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Monterrey, in our data
Monterrey is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Rio Grande Ground Squirrel sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Sciuridae
The closest relatives of the Rio Grande Ground Squirrel that you can see in Monterrey (family Sciuridae, Squirrels) are Allen's Squirrel (about 40%), Red-bellied Squirrel (about 30%) and Rock Squirrel (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Rio Grande Ground Squirrel is recorded against all the mammals logged in Monterrey (7 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
