Long-tailed Ground Squirrel vs Rusty Firedot Lichen

Urocitellus undulatus compared with Blastenia ferruginea

Key Differences

• Long-tailed Ground Squirrel is Least Concern while Rusty Firedot Lichen is Critically Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Long-tailed Ground Squirrel	Rusty Firedot Lichen
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Ascomycota (Sac Fungi)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Lecanoromycetes (Lecanoromycetes)
Order	Rodentia (Rodents)	Teloschistales (Teloschistales)
Family	Sciuridae (Squirrels)	Teloschistaceae
Genus	Urocitellus	Blastenia
Species	Urocitellus undulatus	Blastenia ferruginea

Conservation Status

Long-tailed Ground Squirrel

LC — Least Concern

Rusty Firedot Lichen

CR — Critically Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Long-tailed Ground Squirrel	Rusty Firedot Lichen
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Long-tailed Ground Squirrel

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Rusty Firedot Lichen

Habitat

Native to Europe and North America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and United States. Currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.