CreatureData

Barbary ground squirrel

Atlantoxerus getulus (Linnaeus, 1758)

LCLeast Concernrodents

The barbary ground squirrel (Atlantoxerus getulus) is a species in the family Sciuridae, order Rodentia. Recorded adults weigh 250.6 g to 251 g and live up to 8.28 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Barbary ground squirrel (Atlantoxerus getulus)
Photo: Chrumps · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the barbary ground squirrel

Weight
251 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
8.28 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Herbivoresrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
9 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Active
By day (diurnal)src for Active
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the barbary ground squirrel live?

Not recorded

What is the barbary ground squirrel?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The Barbary ground squirrel (Atlantoxerus getulus) is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is monotypic within the genus Atlantoxerus. It is endemic to the Atlas mountains in Morocco and some parts in Algeria, and has been introduced into the Canary Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, temperate grassland and rocky areas where it lives colonially in burrows. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.

From the Wikipedia article “Barbary ground squirrel” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barbary_ground_squirrel&oldid=1384680356), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the barbary ground squirrel endangered?

The barbary ground squirrel is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the barbary ground squirrel classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classMammalia
  4. orderRodentia
  5. familySciuridae
  6. genusAtlantoxerus
  7. SpeciesAtlantoxerus getulus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms Atlantoxerus praetextus, Sciurus getulus

Other names and names in other languages (34)
  • North African ground squirrelEnglish
  • North African ground squirrelEnglish
  • سنجاب بربريArabic
  • سنجاب الأرض البربريArabic
  • Esquirol terrestre de BarbariaCatalan
  • veverka berberskáCzech
  • AtlashörnchenGerman
  • BerberhörnchenGerman
  • BorstenhörnchenGerman
  • NordafrikanischesGerman
  • Nordafrikanisches BorstenhörnchenGerman
  • Nordafrikanisches ErdhörnchenGerman
  • Εδαφόβιος Σκίουρος της ΒαρβαρίαςGreek
  • Ardilla MorunaSpanish
  • Ardilla de MarruecosSpanish
  • سنجاب زمینی بربریPersian
  • marokonmaaoravaFinnish
  • Ecureuil de BarbarieFrench
  • Écureuil de BarbarieFrench
  • Ecureuil de BerbérieFrench
  • Barbarijsk grûniikhoarntsjeWestern Frisian
  • Xero del NordafricaItalian
  • Scoiattolo terricolo berberoItalian
  • バーバリージリスJapanese
  • BerberjordekornNorwegian Bokmål
  • Barbarijse GrondeekhoornDutch
  • AtlantoxerusOccitan
  • berberyjka marokańskaPolish
  • Esquilo-terrestre-da-barbáriaPortuguese
  • Магрибская белкаRussian
  • Nordafrikansk borstekorreSwedish
  • spirou d' l' Atlasseroot
  • Sóc đất BarbaryVietnamese
  • 旱地松鼠屬Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the barbary ground squirrel

Other species in the same family Sciuridae.

LC, Least Concern
Groundhog (Marmota monax)

Groundhog

Marmota monax

Sciuridae

CompareBarbary ground squirrel vs Red squirrelBarbary ground squirrel vs Siberian flying squirrelBarbary ground squirrel vs Eastern gray squirrelBarbary ground squirrel vs Alpine marmot

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the barbary ground squirrel?

An adult barbary ground squirrel weighs 251 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the barbary ground squirrel endangered?

The barbary ground squirrel is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long does the barbary ground squirrel live?

The barbary ground squirrel has a recorded lifespan of 8.28 years.

What kind of animal is the barbary ground squirrel?

The barbary ground squirrel (Atlantoxerus getulus) belongs to the family Sciuridae in the order Rodentia.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Barbary ground squirrel (Atlantoxerus getulus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/barbary-ground-squirrel

MLA

“Barbary ground squirrel (Atlantoxerus getulus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/barbary-ground-squirrel.

BibTeX
@misc{barbary_ground_squirrel_2026,
  title = {Barbary ground squirrel (Atlantoxerus getulus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/barbary-ground-squirrel},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}