Order Rodentia - Family Sciuridae Author Wilson, Don E. Author Reeder, DeeAnn text 2005 The Johns Hopkins University Press Baltimore Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 2 754 818 book chapter 0-8018-8221-4 10.5281/zenodo.7316535 Spermophilus (Spermophilus) canus Merriam 1898 Spermophilus (Spermophilus) canus Merriam 1898 , Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., 12: 70 . Type Locality: "Antelope, Wasco County, Oregon ." [ USA ]. Vernacular Names: Merriam's Ground Squirrel . Synonyms: Spermophilus (Spermophilus) vigilis (Merriam 1913) . Distribution: USA : E Oregon , except NE and SE corners; extreme NW Nevada ; W side of Snake River in WC Idaho . Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc). Discussion: Subgenus Spermophilus ( Hall, 1981:383 ) . Includes vigilis (see Vorontsov and Lyapunova, 1970 ; Nadler et al., 1984 , wherein that junior synonym was employed as the species name). Formerly considered a subspecies of townsendii ( Hall, 1981:383-384 ) , but differs in diploid chromosome number ( Nadler et al., 1984 ). No hybridization between canus (2n=46) and adjacent mollis (2n=38) or townsendii (2n=36) has been reported (Rickart et al., 1985). Reviewed (in part) by Rickart (1987) , as S. townsendii .