Carnivory on desert cottontails by Texas antelope ground squirrels

摘要

There is evidence of carnivory in ground squirrels, especially within the genus Spermophilus (Johnson, 1922; Bailey, 1923; Packard, 1958; Bridgwater and Penny, 1966). Of the 5 species of the genus Ammospermophilus, Harris' antelope squirrel (A. harrisii) consumed trapped specimens of small mammals (Swarth, 1929). White-tailed antelope ground squirrels (A. leucurus) consumed rodents (Spermophilus tereticaudus, Dipodomys merriami, Peromyscus sp., and Onychomys torridus) and 4 species of lizards and a bird (Bradley, 1968). Morgart (1985) reported the only direct evidence of carnivorous behavior for the genus, when he observed a white-tailed antelope ground squirrel capture and consume a silky pocket mouse (Perognathus). There are no records of carnivory or of vertebrate material in the diet of the Texas antelope ground squirrel (A. interpres).