Chipmunk
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Chipmunks Temporal range: Early Miocene to Recent |
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| Tamias rufus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Sciuridae |
| Tribe: | Marmotini |
| Genus: | Tamias |
A chipmunk is a small squirrel-like rodent. About twenty-three species fall under this title, with one species in northeastern Asia, one in the eastern portions of Canada and the US, and all the rest native to the western part of North America.
The name may have originally been spelled "chitmunk" (perhaps from a Native American word meaning "red squirrel"). However, the earliest form comes from the Oxford English Dictionary (in 1842) as "chipmonk". Other early forms include "chipmuck" and "chipminck".
Popular culture [change]
Chip 'n Dale, two Disney cartoon characters, are famous chipmunks in pop culture. Another such trio is Alvin, Simon and Theodore (created by Ross Bagdasarian).
