Asia Minor ground squirrel over the first decade of the twenty-first century. In view of this decline the International Union for Conservation of Nature re-classified the Asia Minor ground squirrel as "Near Threatened" in the 2009 edition of the IUCN Red List; the species previously having been considered as of Least Concern. Asia Minor ground squirrels also have legal protection in the Republic of Turkey. Asia Minor ground squirrel The Asia Minor ground squirrel ("Spermophilus xanthoprymnus"), also known as Anatolian souslik, Anatolian ground squirrel, is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is found in Armenia, Iran, and Turkey. The scientific name
Asia word "asa" meaning east. This may be contrasted to a similar etymology proposed for "Europe", as being from Akkadian "erēbu(m)" 'to enter' or 'set' (of the sun). T.R. Reid supports this alternative etymology, noting that the ancient Greek name must have derived from "asu", meaning 'east' in Assyrian ("ereb" for "Europe" meaning 'west'). The ideas of "Occidental" (form Latin "Occidens" 'setting') and "Oriental" (from Latin "Oriens" for 'rising') are also European invention, synonymous with "Western" and "Eastern". Reid further emphasizes that it explains the Western point of view of placing all the peoples and cultures of Asia into a single