The long-tailed marmot (Marmota caudata) or golden marmot is a marmot species in the family Sciuridae. It occurs in mountainous regions in the central parts of Asia where it lives in open or lightly wooded habitats, often among rocks where dwarf junipers grow. It is IUCN Red Listed as Least Concern. As suggested by its name, it is a relatively long-tailed species of marmot. Description The long-tailed marmot is a large, sturdy rodent weighing up to . Its typical weight range is from , with the lower weights in the spring directly after hibernation and the higher weights in the autumn just before hibernation where more than one–quarter of its mass can be fat. Males average slightly larger than females. Its head-and-body length is and the tail is about long. The tail is 37–55% of the head-and-body length. This is considerably longer than typical of other marmots, although the proportionally longest-tailed individuals of the grey (M. baibacina) and alpine marmots (M. marmota) are comparable to the shortest-tailed individuals of the long-tailed marmot. The eyes are close to the top of the rather-flattened head, the ears are small and the neck is short. The forelegs are longer than the hind legs. Several subspecies have been described for the long-tailed marmot, but only three are generally recognised: M. c. caudata, M. c. aurea and M. c. dichrous. The last has occasionally been considered a separate species. They differ in colours and some measurements, with M. c. caudata averaging larger than the others. M. c. aurea, the subspecies found in most of its range, is relatively bright golden-buff or orange-tawny overall. Its face is brownish and the top of its head is typically brown to black, but in small parts of its range it is the same colour as its back. The tip of the tail often is blackish. M. c. caudata also has a brown face, and its flanks and underparts are yellowish, but the rear top of its head and mid-back are black, while the tail is black or mixed yellowish and black. M. c. dichrous is black-brown below, but this subspecies is dimorphic in the colour of its upperparts: they are blackish-brown to dull brown in dark animals, and light brown to cream in pale animals. Distribution and habitat The long-tailed marmot is restricted to Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, far southern Kazakhstan (where rare), Uzbekistan, northern Pakistan, northernwestern India and western