A comparative study of scent-gland location and related behaviour in some northwestern nearctic ground squirrel species (Sciuridae): an evolutionary approach

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Abstract
Location and hisiology of integumentary glands were investigated in six species of ground squirrels of the genus Spermophilus found in northwestern North America; S. columbianus, S. undulatus, S. richardsonii, S. tridecemlineatus, S. lateralis, and S. franklinii. Among these species, glands in oral, dorsal, and anal regions were structurally similar. Locations of oral and anal glands were identical but location of individual glands in dorsal-gland fields varied considerably. Gland development was greater in S. columbianus and S. undulatus and least in S. franklinii. Active scent marking was most frequent and extensive in S. columbianus and S. undulatus, less frequent in S. lateralis and S. tridecemlineatus, and absent in S. franklinii. In most instances, greeting behavior (which is focused on the mouth-corner oral-gland area) and the degree of sociality paralleled levels of scent marking. A hypothetical scheme of development or scent marking in relation to habitat and social organization is presented. This scheme fits, in general, classical interpretations of phylogeny.

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