C. ludovicianus Skull Replica measures 2.3 inches. C. ludovicianus Skull is museum quality polyurethane cast. Made in the USA. Known as Black-Tailed Prairie Dog. Our precise skull can be used as a teaching tool, museum skull exhibit, home decor skull, or office decor skull.
The Black-tailed prairie dog or C. ludovicianus is a rodent of the family Sciuridae found in the Great Plains of North America from about the United States-Canada border to the United States-Mexico border.
C. ludovicianus are generally tan in color, with lighter colored bellies. They may have color variation in their pelt, such as dark fur on their back in black and brown tones.
Their tails have black tips. Adults can weigh from 1.5 to 3.0 lb. Body length is normally from 36 to 43 cm, with a 3 to 4 in. tail.
Cynomys ludovicianus have black long claws used for digging. The body of the black tailed prairie dog is compact, and the ears are small and close to the head.
C. ludovicianus live in colonies. Colony size may range from five to thousands of individuals, and may be subdivided into two or more wards, based on topographic features, such as hills.
Wards are usually subdivided into two or more coteries, which are composed of aggregates of highly territorial, harem-polygynous social groups.
Black-tailed prairie dog gestation is 34 days. Parturition occurs underground. Information about litter size at time of birth is unavailable, but the mean litter size observed above ground ranges from 3.0 to 4.9 young. Only one litter is produced each year.
C. ludovicianus are selective opportunists, preferring certain phenological stages or types of vegetation according to their needs. When forage is stressed by grazing, drought, or herbicides, they change their diets quickly.
Grasses are preferred over forbs, and may comprise more than 75 percent of their diets, especially during summer. Western wheatgrass, buffalo grass, blue grama and sedges are preferred during spring and summer.
Scarlet globe mallow and Russian thistle are preferred during late summer and fall. During winter, plains prickly pear, Russian thistle, and underground roots are preferred.
The historic range of the Black-tailed Prairie Dog was from southern Saskatchewan and Alberta to Chihuahua, Mexico, and included portions of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico.
As of 2007, black-tailed prairie dogs or C. ludovicianus occur across most of their historic range, excluding Arizona; however, their occupied acreage and populations are well below historic levels.
