Marmots are largeground squirrels in thegenusMarmota, with 15 species living in Asia, Europe, and North America. Theseherbivores are active during the summer, when they can often be found in groups, but are not seen during the winter, when theyhibernate underground. They are the heaviest members of thesquirrel family.[1]
Marmots are large rodents with characteristically short but robust legs, enlarged claws which are well adapted to digging, stout bodies, and large heads and incisors to quickly process a variety of vegetation. While most species are various forms of earthen-hued brown, marmots vary in fur coloration based roughly on their surroundings. Species in more open habitat are more likely to have a paler color, while those sometimes found in well-forested regions tend to be darker.[2][3] Marmots are the heaviest members of thesquirrel family. Total length varies typically from about 42 to 72 cm (17 to 28 in) and body mass averages about 2 kg (4+1⁄2 lb) in spring in the smaller species and 8 kg (18 lb) in autumn, at times exceeding 11 kg (24 lb), in the larger species.[4][5][6] The largest and smallest species are not clearly known.[3][4] In North America, on the basis of mean linear dimensions and body masses through the year, the smallest species appears to be theAlaska marmot and the largest is theOlympic marmot.[5][7][8][6] Some species, such as theHimalayan marmot andTarbagan marmot in Asia, appear to attain roughly similar body masses to the Olympic marmot, but are not known to reach as high a total length as the Olympic species.[9][10] In the traditional definition ofhibernation, the largest marmots are considered the largest "true hibernators" (since larger "hibernators" such asbears do not have the same physiological characteristics asobligate hibernating animals such as assortedrodents,bats andinsectivores).[11][12]
Marmots typically live inburrows (often within rockpiles, particularly in the case of theyellow-bellied marmot), andhibernate there through the winter. Most marmots are highly social and use loud whistles to communicate with one another, especially when alarmed.
The following is a list of allMarmota species recognized by Thorington and Hoffman[13] plus the recently definedM. kastschenkoi.[14] They divide marmots into twosubgenera.
A Marmot with a Branch of Plums, 1605 byJacopo LigozziMarmota primigenia fossil
Marmots have been known since antiquity. Research by theFrenchethnologistMichel Peissel claimed the story of the "Gold-digging ant" reported by theAncient Greek historianHerodotus, who lived in the fifth century BCE, was founded on the goldenHimalayan marmot of the Deosai Plateau and the habit of local tribes such as theBrokpa to collect thegold dust excavated from their burrows.[19]Some historians believe thatStrabo'sλέων μύρμηξ, andAgatharchides'sμυρμηκολέων, most probably are the marmot.[20]
An anatomically accurate image of a marmot was printed and distributed as early as 1605 byJacopo Ligozzi, who was noted for his images of flora and fauna.
The etymology of the term "marmot" is uncertain. It may have arisen from theGallo-Romance prefixmarm-, meaning to mumble or murmur (an example ofonomatopoeia). Another possible origin is postclassicalLatin,mus montanus, meaning "mountain mouse".[21]
Beginning in 2010, Alaska celebrates February 2 as "Marmot Day", a holiday intended to observe the prevalence of marmots in that state and take the place ofGroundhog Day.[22]
Some historians and paleogeneticists have postulated that theYersinia pestis variant that caused theBlack Death pandemic that struck Eurasia in the14th century originated from a variant for which marmots in China were thenatural reservoir species.[23][24]
^Kryštufek, B.; B. Vohralík (2013). "Taxonomic revision of the Palaearctic rodents (Rodentia). Part 2. Sciuridae: Urocitellus, Marmota and Sciurotamias".Lynx, N. S. (Praha).44:27–138.
^Armitage, KB; Wolff, JO; Sherman, PW (2007).Evolution of sociality in marmots: it begins with hibernation. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press. pp. 356–367.
^abCardini, A; O'Higgins, Paul (2004). "Patterns of morphological evolution in Marmota (Rodentia, Sciuridae): geometric morphometrics of the cranium in the context of marmot phylogeny, ecology, and conservation".Biological Journal of the Linnean Society.82 (3):385–407.doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.2004.00367.x.S2CID83837961.
^abArmitage, KB; Blumstein, DT (2002).Body-mass diversity in marmots. Holarctic marmots as a factor of biodiversity. Moscow: ABF. pp. 22–32.
^Hubbart, JA (2011). "Current Understanding of the Alaska Marmot (Marmota broweri): A Sensitive Species in a Changing Environment".Journal of Biology and Life Sciences.2 (2):6–13.
^Murdoch, JD; Munkhzul, T; Buyandelger, S; Reading, RP; Sillero-Zubiri, C (2009). "The Endangered Siberian marmot Marmota sibirica as a keystone species? Observations and implications of burrow use by corsac foxes Vulpes corsac in Mongolia".Oryx.43 (3):431–434.doi:10.1017/S0030605309001100 (inactive 3 March 2025).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of March 2025 (link)
^abBrandler, OV (2003). "On species status of the forest-steppe marmotMarmota kastschenkoi (Rodentia, Marmotinae)".Zoologičeskij žurnal (in Russian).82 (12):1498–1505.
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