# Marmots and Groundhogs

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marmots-and-groundhogs/779000>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 4, 2017, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marmots-and-groundhogs/779000 "2017-02-04T18:56:22Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\
**Post date:** [February 4, 2017, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marmots-and-groundhogs/779000/1 "2017-02-04T18:56:22Z")

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I’ve heard and read conflicting statements concerning marmots and groundhogs. I’ve read they are the same species (with a Latin name of Marmot momax). They appear to have the same scientific name, but I’ve also read or heard that the marmot is a sub-species of the groundhog. Because it is called a marmot in the western USA and the groundhog in the eastern USA, it is possible that one is the sub-species of the other. What’s the straight dope.

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**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\
**Post date:** [February 4, 2017, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marmots-and-groundhogs/779000/2 "2017-02-04T19:08:42Z")

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Marmots are a genus. There are 15 species of marmots including M. Monax, which is found in most of the eastern US. There are also 3 other subspeices of marmots in a different subgenus that are found in the western US and Canada, including the Hoary Marmot (M. caligata) and yellow bellied marmot (M. flaviventris). The latter being most common at altitude in the US west.

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**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\
**Post date:** [February 4, 2017, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marmots-and-groundhogs/779000/3 "2017-02-04T20:04:12Z")

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> [@Telemark](#):
>
> There are also 3 other subspeices of marmots in a different subgenus

To clarify, this should be “other species,” not subspecies.

To expand on this a little, there are 15 species of marmots in the genus _Marmota_, found across Eurasia and North America. The Groundhog, or Woodchuck, _Marmota monax_, is one of six species of marmot found in North America, and the only one that occurs in the east. The Hoary Marmot and Yellow-bellied Marmot are the only other North American species that are widespread; the other three have narrow distributions.

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**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\
**Post date:** [February 4, 2017, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marmots-and-groundhogs/779000/4 "2017-02-04T22:04:36Z")

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Or, to use simple logical statements: All groundhogs are marmots. Some marmots are groundhogs.