The groundhog (Marmota monax), also known as the woodchuck, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots.[2]
A lowland creature of North America, it is found through much of the Eastern United States, across Canada and into Alaska.[3]
It was given its scientific name as Mus monax by Carl Linnaeus in 1758,[4] based on a description of the animal by George Edwards, published in 1743.[5]
^"Marmota monax, Woodchuck". North American Mammals. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Archived from the original on March 25, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
^Linnaeus, Carl (1758). Systema naturae. Vol. 1 (10 ed.). Lars Salvius. p. 60. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved January 29, 2018 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
^Edwards, George (1743). A natural history of birds. Vol. 1. p. 104. Retrieved December 11, 2024 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.