Twenty of the Indian species are, however, largely arboreal, and are exceedingly active, feeding on buds, fruits, nuts and other vegetable substances. Prairie Dogs and Susliks are Sciurids and are burrowing short-tailed rodents quite dissimilar in habits from tree squirrels. Besides the familiar tree-dwelling and busty-tailed squirrels, it is not generally realized that Marmots, Ground Hogs and the Ground Squirrels of the great natural prairie regions also belong to this family. All the family are characterised by grinding teeth which are low-crowned and cuspidate, and by a peculiar attachment of the masseter (main chewing) muscle which is inserted in the skull ahead of the zygomatic arch. Over fifty genera have been included in this family. Squirrels belong to the family Sciuridae, a well-defined group within the order Rodentia.
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