Spermophilus is a genus of ground squirrels in the squirrel family. As traditionally defined the genus was very species-rich, ranging through Europe, Asia and North America, but this arrangement was found to be paraphyletic to the certainly distinct prairie dogs, marmots, and antelope squirrels. As a consequence, all the former Spermophilus species of North America have been moved to other genera, leaving the European and Asian species as true Spermophilus.
Spermophilus
Spermophilus suslicus, a species that commonly has clearly white-spotted upperparts
Ground squirrels are rodents of the squirrel family (Sciuridae) that generally live on the ground or in burrows, rather than in trees like the tree squirrels. 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 bushy-tailed ground squirrels tend to be known as chipmunks.
Ground squirrel
20,000-year-old Arctic ground squirrel mummy
California ground squirrel (Otospermophilus beecheyi) in a tree
Watchful "rock chuck" or yellow-bellied marmot (Marmota flaviventris) atop Mount Dana, Yosemite National Park in California