Merriam's chipmunk (Neotamias merriami) is named after Clinton Hart Merriam (1855-1942), an American zoologist, mammalogist, ornithologist, entomologist, ethnographer, and naturalist. The common name originally may have been spelled "chitmunk", from the native Odawa (Ottawa) word jidmoonh, meaning red squirrel. This chipmunk has grey to brown fur, with dark stripes. Its bellies and cheeks are white. It is found in central and southern California.[2] in the United States and a small area in northern Baja California, Mexico.
