Why are they called Richardsons ground squirrels?
Richardson’s ground squirrels are named in honour of Sir John Richardson, the surgeon-naturalist on two British naval expeditions charged with mapping the arctic coast of British North America (now Canada). During the over-land part of the expedition, John Richardson explored along the Saskatchewan River to Fort Carlton, where he collected specimens of a new rodent species in May 1820. He sent these specimens back to England, where they were named in 1822 by Joseph Sabine of the Linnean Society and given the specific epithet richardsonii. For further information, see Species Description.
