---
title: "Citello giallo"
description: "Spermophilus fulvus — Mammiferi. The yellow ground squirrel (Spermophilus fulvus) is a large and sturdy ground squirrel species native to Afghanistan, China, Iran, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Russia."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/it/animal/yellow-ground-squirrel
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Citello giallo

> Spermophilus fulvus — Mammiferi. The yellow ground squirrel (Spermophilus fulvus) is a large and sturdy ground squirrel species native to Afghanistan, China, Iran, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Russia.

- Scientific name: *Spermophilus fulvus*
- Category: `mammals` (Mammiferi)
- Habitats: `grassland` (Prati e campi)
- iNaturalist observations: 398
- Wikidata: [Q1766612](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1766612)
- iNaturalist taxon: [46035](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/46035)

## Names

- en: Yellow Ground Squirrel
- de: Gelbziesel
- es: Ardilla de Tierra Amarilla
- fr: Souslik fauve
- it: Citello giallo
- nl: Gele grondeekhoorn
- pl: Suseł żółty

## Countries with the most observations

KZ (113), RU (99), UZ (75), IR (26), KG (11)

## Summary

The yellow ground squirrel (Spermophilus fulvus) is a large and sturdy ground squirrel species native to Afghanistan, China, Iran, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Russia. It inhabits sandy steppes with Artemisia, glasswort and tamarisk.
The yellow ground squirrel has naked soles on the hind feet excluding heels. It lives in large colonies, is strictly diurnal and forages mainly in the morning when the vegetation is still damp. Its diet includes bulbs, seeds, stems and leaves. It hibernates, but it may also aestivate.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_ground_squirrel

## Photo

![Citello giallo](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/yellow-ground-squirrel/medium.jpg)

Photo: Алексей Ябс · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/299777967

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/yellow-ground-squirrel?lang=it` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).