Description: Panamint Chipmunks (Neotamias panamintinus) are small, reddish-brown squirrels with dark and light stripes on the face and on the back. The head and body are about 4-1/2-inches long, and the tail is about 3-1/2 to 4-inches long. The shoulders and sides are reddish brown, and the flanks are gray. Higher on the back, the dorsal stripes are distinctly dark and light, although they fade on the rump.

This species lives at lower elevations in the Spring Mountains (Mt. Charleston area) in Pinyon-Juniper Woodland life zone. Genetic studies show that this species does not occur above the pinyon-juniper zone.

In the Las Vegas area, only chipmunks have stripes on the face, and chipmunks are equally at home on the ground and in the trees.

Where to Find: Panamint Chipmunks occur in the mountains that straddle the Nevada-California border. Look for them in the Pinyon-Juniper Woodlands in the Spring Mountains (Mt Charleston), New York Mountains (Mojave Preserve), and the mountain ranges in Death Valley National Park, and north to just south of Lake Tahoe.