Nevada mammals

Common Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel in Nevada

Callospermophilus lateralis

Native to Nevada S5 Secure in Nevada

Not listed as nonindigenous in Nevada by USGS NAS; native to its Nevada range.

IUCN Red List status

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Photo: stephen · CC BY 4.0Common golden-mantled ground squirrel on a fallen log, showing its plain face and striped sidesPhoto: Karen Kincy · CC BY 4.0Common golden-mantled ground squirrel perched on a wooden railPhoto: Karen Kincy · CC BY 4.0Golden-mantled ground squirrel sitting upright beside a trail railingPhoto: stephen · CC BY 4.0Common golden-mantled ground squirrel crossing a sunlit logPhoto: Darrin LeBlanc · CC BY 4.0Close view of a golden-mantled ground squirrel with no facial stripes

Photo: stephen · CC BY 4.0Common golden-mantled ground squirrel on a fallen log, showing its plain face and striped sidesPhoto: Karen Kincy · CC BY 4.0Common golden-mantled ground squirrel perched on a wooden railPhoto: Karen Kincy · CC BY 4.0Golden-mantled ground squirrel sitting upright beside a trail railingPhoto: stephen · CC BY 4.0Common golden-mantled ground squirrel crossing a sunlit logPhoto: Darrin LeBlanc · CC BY 4.0Close view of a golden-mantled ground squirrel with no facial stripes

Common Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel in Nevada, by the numbers

Common in Nevada 22nd most recorded of 142 mammals logged in Nevada

1,185 occurrence records

600 with iNaturalist photos

Jul 7, 2026 Last seen in Nevada

Records from 2000–2026.

1,185 total records count every Nevada occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 1,167 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Common Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel in Nevada

Most sightings fall in June to July.

1,167 Nevada occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly Nevada records (table)

Month	Records
January	2
February	1
March	9
April	16
May	113
June	277
July	417
August	234
September	66
October	28
November	4
December	0

Monthly common golden-mantled ground squirrel occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Nevada, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Nevada, with recorded sightings peaking in June–July.

Occurrence map

Where Common Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel has been recorded in Nevada

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 Nevada records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monument	iNaturalist records
Toiyabe National Forest	106
Great Basin National Park	60
Pine Forest Range Wilderness Area	29
Mt. Charleston Wilderness	22
Ruby Mountains Wilderness	17
Mt. Rose Wilderness	12
Spring Mountains	9
Humboldt National Forest	6

Protected places with the most common golden-mantled ground squirrel sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in Nevada

County	Records
Clark County	322
Elko County	199
Washoe County	195
White Pine County	121
Douglas County	108
Humboldt County	78
Lander County	36
Carson City County	35
Nye County	33
Mineral County	31
Esmeralda County	6
Eureka County	4
4 other counties	17

The complete county distribution, spread across 16 Nevada counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Nevada records for the common golden mantled ground squirrel are anchored by Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest and Spring Mountains. They show where people have reported it, not how many animals live there.

The Nevada records bridge the state’s southern desert country and its higher central or northern ranges. That broad spread matters more than any single hotspot. The strongest reporting falls in summer, when Nevada’s high country is easiest to reach but low deserts are hottest. That may shape where observers submit records.

The file combines 600 research-grade iNaturalist records and 1,024 GBIF records. Those 1,624 records measure documented encounters, not Nevada’s population size. It’s native to Nevada. Nevada doesn’t specifically list it under the state’s conservation framework, and the IUCN lists it as Least Concern.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Full species profile Common Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel Callospermophilus lateralis Size 23–32 cm9.1–12.6 in Weight 120–350 g4.2–12.3 oz Lifespan 7 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Nevada in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries
USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"