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Prairie dog - vs - ground hog - vs - ground squirrel.
The ground hog looks a bit fatter than the rest and the squirrel is a bit shorter and skinnier, but the prarie dog ain't all that different, not much anywho... are these related more closely than looks.?.does anyone know a good source/link to the latin names of genus, species, sub-species, etc. of animals?
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how much ground would a ground hog hog, if a ground hog could hog ground?!
(so how come it's not called Woodchuck Day?)
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...rats.
Kingdom Animalia -> Phylum Chordata -> Subphylum Vertebrata -> Class Mammalia -> Order Rodentia
But hey...I like rats.
How much hog would a ground hog ground if a ground hog could ground hogs?
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Quote:
(so how come it's not called Woodchuck Day?)
Or either Whistle Pig Day, one.
How much ground round would a hound dog hog if a hound dog was round ground?
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Of course your prarie dogs are deformed, since they only have one eye, while true prairie dogs have two.
All seriousness aside, they are miserable pests which transmit plague to humans. Most of the people in the areas where the little rodents abound wish that Lewis and Clarke had called them prairie rats rather than prairie dogs because it would be so much easier to get rid of them.
I used to bicycle extensively through the Colorado plains east of Denver, and was privileged to witness the death of one of these animals. I had stopped for a drink of water and was watching a bunch of prairie dogs who, it turns out, were watching me rather than the true source of danger. Suddenly a bald eagle hit a prairie dog so hard I could hear the whump from 50 yards away. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera so I could not document the bloodletting that followed immediately. Eagles, at least this one, don't carry their food away if they can help it. Eat it while it's still warm, apparently.
TEd
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> does anyone know a good source/link to the latin names of genus, species, sub-species, etc. of animals? I found a great link a couple months ago but forgot to bookmark it. Hope this helps. 
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Milum, if you like rats, you should read this book:
Rats: Observations On The History & Habitat Of The City?s Most Unwanted Inhabitants
By: Robert Sullivan
ISBN: 1582343853
It is really interesting, though sometimes, he does give you that little "ewww, yuck" feeling when he describes some stuff.
It's really cheap (I guess not too many people want to read up on rodents) and a very easy read.
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rats
You consider rabbits rats, too? Also of the order Rodentia.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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Of course you could say that rabbits are rats.
You could also say that rats are rabbits.
But the best guess is that rabbits and rats and people diverged from common Mammalian stock at slightly different times during the Mesozoic.
Rabbits and rodents are both our cousins, but we play favorites because we are bigots.
Last edited by themilum; 02/17/06 09:03 PM.
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There are five species of prarie dogs, all residents of North America: the black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus), the white-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys leucurus), the Gunnison prairie dog (Cynomys gunnisoni), the Utah prairie dog (Cynomys parvidens), and the Mexican prairie dog (Cynomys mexicanus) (Pizzimenti 1975).
The Latin name for the groundhog is marmota monax. In Ontario and elsewhere, it is also called the Woodchuck.
The ground squrrels are all seed lovers: Spermophilus columbianus, the Columbian Ground Squirrel; Spermophilus lateralis, the Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel; and Spermophilus richardsonii, Richardson's Ground Squirrel.
All are rodents (the Order Rodentia). All are part of the Family Sciuridae.
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