query: parent_taxon xerinae
supports: The Xerinae comprise a subfamily of squirrels , many of which are highly terrestrial . It includes the tribes Marmotini ( marmots , chipmunks , prairie dogs , and other Holarctic ground squirrels ) , Xerini ( African and some Eurasian ground squirrels ) , and Protoxerini ( African tree squirrels ) . The Holarctic is the name for the biogeographic realm that encompasses the majority of habitats found throughout the northern continents of the world, combining Wallace's Palearctic zoogeographical region, consisting of North Africa and all of Eurasia (with the exception of the southern Arabian Peninsula, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent), and the Nearctic zoogeographical region, consisting of North America north of Southern Mexico. These regions are further subdivided into a variety of ecoregions. Many ecosystems, and the animal and plant communities that depend on them, are found across multiple continents in large portions of this realm. The continuity of these ecosystems results from the shared glacial history of the realm. The floristic Boreal Kingdom corresponds to the Holarctic realm. Mexico (, modern Nahuatl ), officially the United Mexican States, is a federal republic in the southern half of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and to the east by the Gulf of Mexico. Covering almost two million square kilometers (over 760,000 sq mi), Mexico is the sixth largest country in the Americas by total area and the 13th largest independent nation in the world. With an estimated population of over 120 million, it is the eleventh most populous country and the most populous Spanish-speaking country in the world while being the second most populous country in Latin America. Mexico is a federation comprising 31 states and a federal district that is also its capital and most populous city. Other metropolises include Guadalajara, Monterrey, Puebla, Toluca, Tijuana and León. The long-clawed ground squirrel ("Spermophilopsis leptodactylus") is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is monotypic within the genus Spermophilopsis. It can be found in Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The Protoxerini comprise a tribe of squirrels found in Africa. The 30 species in six genera are: Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most-populous continent. At about 30.3 million km² (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area and 20.4 % of its total land area. With 1.1 billion people as of 2013, it accounts for about 15% of the world's human population. The continent is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, both the Suez Canal and the Red Sea along the Sinai Peninsula to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The continent includes Madagascar and various archipelagos. It contains 54 fully recognized sovereign states (countries), nine territories and two "de facto" independent states with limited or no recognition. The Barbary ground squirrel ("Atlantoxerus getulus") is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is monotypic within the genus "Atlantoxerus". It is endemic to Western Sahara, Algeria and Morocco and has been introduced into the Canary Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, temperate grassland and rocky areas where it lives colonially in burrows. It was first described by Linnaeus in 1758. Xerini is a tribe of ground squirrels occurring in Africa and Asia. With the tribes Marmotini (Holarctic ground squirrels) and Protoxerini (African tree squirrels), they form the subfamily Xerinae. There are three living genera"Xerus", the African ground squirrels; "Atlantoxerus", containing the living Barbary ground squirrel of North Africa and some extinct species; and "Spermophilopsis", containing the long-clawed ground squirrel of Central Asia. Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots (including woodchucks), flying squirrels, and prairie dogs amongst other rodents. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa, and were introduced by humans to Australia. The earliest known squirrels date from the Eocene period and are most closely related to the mountain beaver and to the dormouse among other living rodent families.
candidates: animal area areas atlantoxerus human marmotini plant protoxerini sciuridae spermophilopsis xerinae xerini
answer: sciuridae