Prairie dog and Clark in 1804. Lewis described it in more detail in 1806, calling it the "barking squirrel". On average, these stout-bodied rodents will grow to be between long, including the short tail, and weigh between . Sexual dimorphism in body mass in the prairie dog varies 105 to 136% between the sexes. Among the species, black-tailed prairie dogs tend to be the least sexually dimorphic, and white-tailed prairie dogs tend to be the most sexually dimorphic. Sexual dimorphism peaks during weaning, when the females lose weight and the males start eating more, and is at its lowest when the females
Hole in the Mountain Prairie and numerous rodents are present, but The Nature Conservancy touts the butterflies of Hole in the Mountain as the most unusual and significant of its creatures. The preserve is located in a valley of Buffalo Ridge, which is in turn a portion of the Coteau des Prairies, a highland which originates in South Dakota and runs about south and southeast through part of Minnesota and into northwestern Iowa. Hole in the Mountain Prairie Hole in the Mountain Prairie is a preserved remnant of the tallgrass prairie in southwestern Minnesota. It is owned and administered by The Nature Conservancy. Hole in