The final subfamily of Sciuridae is Xerinae, containing about 125 species in twenty-four genera. This subfamily contains the typical ground squirrels (as opposed to the southeast Asian ground squirrels, which are modified Callosciurinae). Many of the species in this subfamily will be familiar to Northern Hemisphere Zoochatters, including as it does the marmots, sousliks, prairie dogs, chipmunks, etc.
In total, sixty-eight species from nineteen genera are represented in the Zoochat galleries.
Xerinae is divided into three Tribes, as follows:
Xerini (African ground squirrels) has six species in three genera: Atlantoxerus, Spermophilopsis, Xerus.
There are four species currently represented in the Zoochat galleries, from two genera: Atlantoxerus and Xerus.
Protoxerini (African tree squirrels) has thirty species in six genera: Epixerus, Funisciurus, Heliosciurus, Myosciurus, Paraxerus, Protoxerus.
Only ten species are currently represented in the Zoochat galleries, from three genera: Funisciurus, Heliosciurus, Paraxerus.
Marmotini (Holarctic ground squirrels) has about ninety species in fifteen genera: Ammospermophilus, Callospermophilus, Cynomys, Eutamias, Ictidomys, Marmota, Neotamias, Notocitellus, Otospermophilus, Poliocitellus, Sciurotamias, Spermophilus, Tamias, Urocitellus, Xerospermophilus. This Tribe has undergone quite a bit of taxonomic change, with the large genus Spermophilus - formerly being considered monophyletic - being broken into several smaller genera.
Fifty-four species from fourteen genera are represented in the Zoochat galleries. The only genus not yet represented is Notocitellus.