rock squirrel

American  

noun

1. a large, gray ground squirrel, Spermophilus variegatus, inhabiting rocky areas of the southwestern U.S.

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Etymology

Origin of rock squirrel

First recorded in 1850–55

Example Sentences

Not the razor-toothed mountain lion, nor the 700-pound bull elk, and not even one of the Canyon’s five species of rattlesnake … no, they were talking about the rock squirrel.

From Slate • Jun. 30, 2022

That means that once plague has decimated one rodent species — say, the prairie dog — there are lots of other rodent species nearby it can jump to, like the rock squirrel.

From New York Times • Jun. 27, 2017

The rock squirrel ranges throughout the Park in all habitats.

From Mammals of Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado by Anderson, Sydney

Here and there a chuckwalla darted across the trail or a rock squirrel sat on his haunches and scolded as we passed.

From I Married a Ranger by Smith, Dama Margaret

On July 18, 1960, I found a young male rock squirrel dead on the road a mile north of headquarters that had 234 pinyon seeds in its cheek-pouches.

From Mammals of Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado by Anderson, Sydney