Relict ground squirrel
Spermophilus relictus (Kashkarov, 1923)
The relict ground squirrel (Spermophilus relictus) is a species in the family Sciuridae, order Rodentia. Recorded adults weigh 318 g to 600 g and live up to 6.68 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Quick facts about the relict ground squirrel
- Weight
- 318 g – 600 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 6.68 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 6.7 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 27.4 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 5.7src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 10.3 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1.28src for Litters or clutches a year
- 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 relict ground squirrel live?
Not recorded
What is the relict ground squirrel?
The relict ground squirrel (Spermophilus relictus) is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is found in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. It is thought to be synonymous with Spermophilus ralli, whose name was formerly used for the Tian Shan ground squirrel (S. nilkaensis).
From the Wikipedia article “Relict ground squirrel” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Relict_ground_squirrel&oldid=1315235495), 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 relict ground squirrel endangered?
The relict ground squirrel is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the relict ground squirrel classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderRodentia
- familySciuridae
- genusSpermophilus
- SpeciesSpermophilus relictus (Kashkarov, 1923)
Synonyms Citellus relictus, Urocitellus relictus
Other names and names in other languages (18)
- Tien Shan ground squirrelEnglish
- Tien Shan ground squirrelEnglish
- sysel hnědavýCzech
- ReliktzieselGerman
- Relikt-ZieselGerman
- tienšaninsuslikkiFinnish
- Tien San-hegységi ürgeHungarian
- Citello del Tien ShanItalian
- ムカシハタリスJapanese
- Реликті сарышұнақKazakh
- 잔존땅다람쥐Korean
- 톈산땅다람쥐Korean
- suseł reliktowyPolish
- Реликтовый сусликRussian
- Reliktovyi SuslikRussian
- Tyan'-shan'skii SuslikRussian
- Tanrı Dağları GelengisiTurkish
- 天山黃鼠Chinese
Relatives of the relict ground squirrel
Other species in the same genus Spermophilus.

European ground squirrel
Spermophilus citellus

Speckled ground squirrel
Spermophilus suslicus

Yellow ground squirrel
Spermophilus fulvus

Little ground squirrel
Spermophilus pygmaeus

Russet ground squirrel
Spermophilus major

Alashan ground squirrel
Spermophilus alashanicus
CompareRelict ground squirrel vs European ground squirrelRelict ground squirrel vs Speckled ground squirrelRelict ground squirrel vs Yellow ground squirrelRelict ground squirrel vs Little ground squirrel
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the relict ground squirrel?
An adult relict ground squirrel weighs 318 g – 600 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the relict ground squirrel endangered?
The relict 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 relict ground squirrel live?
The relict ground squirrel has a recorded lifespan of 6.68 years.
How long is the relict ground squirrel pregnant?
The recorded gestation period is 27.4 days.
What kind of animal is the relict ground squirrel?
The relict ground squirrel (Spermophilus relictus) 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.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Relict ground squirrel (Spermophilus relictus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/relict-ground-squirrel
“Relict ground squirrel (Spermophilus relictus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/relict-ground-squirrel.
@misc{relict_ground_squirrel_2026,
title = {Relict ground squirrel (Spermophilus relictus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/relict-ground-squirrel},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}