Hey you biologists, What type of Marmot is this?

[BRI]

I spent some time up in the high country near Jackson, Wyoming and came across this cool critter. At 9500' I thought hoary but have never seen one this color before. Plus it looks like their range doesn't extend this far south. Maybe yellow-bellied but I couldn't find any pictures with this color variation?

 

[shoots-straight]

a hairy one

 

[Bambistew]

Looks like a young hoary marmot.

 

[Ben Lamb]

Everything anyone ever wanted to know about fur color diversity in Marmots:

https://www.eeb.ucla.edu/Faculty/Blumstein/MarmotsOfRMBL/pdfs/Armitage_2009_EEE-fur.pdf

 

[Hunting Wife]

It's a melanistic yellow bellied marmot. Melanism (dark fur) is apparently unique to those of the species found in the Teton Range. Can't make a link to a pdf work from my phone, but if you Google "melanistic marmot Wyoming" you'll get some links to papers from research on the subject.

Nice pic!

 

[Ben Lamb]

Melanistic Marmot is a great bluegrass band name.

 

[1_pointer]

Melanistic Marmot is a great bluegrass band name.

Wouldn't that just be Black Groundhog in bluegrass country??

 

[Southwind]

I quickly identified the Melanistic Marmot Scat in the lower right. That would be the lead singers nickname.

 

[Ben Lamb]

Wouldn't that just be Black Groundhog in bluegrass country??

Racist!!

 

[1_pointer]

Ha!