Spermophilus

Genus of rodents

Spermophilus, also known as the Old World ground squirrels, sousliks or, sometimes, spermophiles, is an Old World genus of ground squirrels in the squirrel family (Sciuridae). Formerly, the genus was more species rich, but it has since been reduced to contain only species from Eurasia, with many former species having been moved to other genera. The 18 known species are distributed across the Eurasian steppe belt and adjacent regions between Central Europe and Manchuria.

From Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA. More on occurri.