In _Marmota_ the baculum is greatly enlarged at the posterior end and
forms a shieldlike surface. The ventral surface of the base is flattened
and the ventral surface of the shaft curves slightly ventrally then
dorsally to the tip. The dorsal region of the base culminates in a
point, from which there is a ridge that extends anteriorly and that
tapers rapidly into the shaft near the tip. The tip, dorsally, has a
slight depression surrounded by knobs, which are more or less well
defined, and which resemble, topographically, the spines described for
_Spermophilus_ (see fig. 8).
In _Sciurus_ the baculum is semispoonshaped and asymmetrical. There
is a winglike process on one side and a spine, which projects
lateroventrally, on the other side of the tip. The base of the baculum
is broad but not so broad as in most species of _Spermophilus_.
Extending posteriorly from the region of the tip, at which point a
spine projects lateroventrally, there is a ridge, which is often
partly ossified and that extends to a point near the base (see fig. 4).
In _Tamiasciurus_ the baculum is absent or vestigial (Layne,
1952:457-459).
In _Eutamias_ the baculum is broad at the base and the shaft tapers
distally to the junction of the shaft and tip, or the base is only
slightly wider than any part of the shaft. The tip often forms an abrupt
angle with the shaft and there is a keel on the dorsal surface of the
tip (see figs. 5, 6).
The baculum in _Glaucomys_ is the most distinctive of that of any
American sciurid. According to Pocock (1923:243-244), "The baculum [of
_G. volans_] is exceedingly long and slender, slightly sinuous in its
proximal third, and inclined slightly upwards distally. The extreme apex
is bifid, the lower process being rounded, the upper more pointed. On
the left side there is a long crest running from the summit of the
upper terminal process and ending abruptly behind the left side about
one-third of the distance from the proximal end of the bone. It lies
over a well-marked groove, and there is a second shallower groove on the
right side of the bone." The baculum of _G. sabrinus_ is markedly wider,
more flattened and shorter than in _G. volans_. The crest, which is also
present in _G. volans_, starts from the upper terminal process and
extends to the base of the baculum on the left side. There is a knoblike
process on the crest at a point three fourths the length of the baculum
from its base. The distal one third of the baculum curves sharply but
smoothly upwards (see fig. 9).
Keeping in mind that the baculum in the North American sciurids can be
classified into six structural groups, as given above, the baculum in
each of the subgenera _Eutamias_ and _Neotamias_ and in the genus
_Tamias_ is briefly described.
In the subgenus _Neotamias_ the baculum resembles a leg and foot of man,
with a narrow ridge (keel) in the center of the "instep" of the foot
(Howell 1929:27). The tip (=foot) curves dorsally at the distal end
(see figs. 5, 6).
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