Editing Groundhog (section)

==Description==
[[File:Groundhog Newark, NJ 31 March 2021.jpg|thumb|left|Groundhog displaying its incisors]]
The groundhog is the largest [[sciuridae|sciurid]] in its geographical range, excluding its presence in [[British Columbia]] where its range may be comparable to that of its somewhat larger cousin, the [[hoary marmot]]. Adults may measure from {{convert|41.8|to|68.5|cm|in|abbr=on|frac=16}} in total length, including a tail of {{convert|9.5|to|18.7|cm|in|abbr=on|frac=16}}.<ref name="Kwiecinski">{{cite journal |last=Kwiecinski |first=Gary G. |date=December 4, 1998 |title=Marmota monax |journal=Mammalian Species |issue=591 |pages=1–8 |doi=10.2307/3504364 |jstor=3504364 |s2cid=253945560 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name= Schwartz>{{cite book|last1=Schwartz|first1=C. W.|last2=Schwartz|first2=E. R.|year=2001|title=The wild mammals of Missouri|publisher=University of Missouri Press}}</ref><ref name=DC>{{cite book|title=Wildlife of Virginia and Maryland and Washington, D.C.|year=2003|author=Charles Fergus|page=45|publisher=Stackpole Books |isbn=978-0811728218}}</ref> Weights of adult groundhogs typically fall between {{convert|2|and|6.3|kg|lboz|abbr=on}}.<ref name=DC/><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Ferron|first1=J.|last2=Ouellet|first2=J. P.|year=1991|title=Physical and behavioral postnatal development of woodchucks (''Marmota monax'')|journal=Canadian Journal of Zoology|volume=69|issue=4|pages=1040–1047|doi=10.1139/z91-149 |bibcode=1991CaJZ...69.1040F }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author1=Couser, W.|author2=Sargent, P.|author3=Brownhill, L. E.|author4=Benirschke, K.|year=1963|title=The somatic chromosomes of the Northeastern American woodchuck, Marmota monax|journal=Cytologia|volume=28|issue=1|pages=108–111|doi=10.1508/cytologia.28.108 |s2cid=84875225 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Male groundhogs are slightly larger than females on average and, like all marmots, they are considerably heavier during autumn (when engaged in [[Polyphagia|autumn hyperphagia]]) than when they emerge from hibernation in spring. Adult males average year-around weight {{convert|3.83|kg|lboz|abbr=on}}, with spring to fall average weights of {{convert|3.1|to|5.07|kg|lboz|abbr=on}} while females average {{convert|3.53|kg|lboz|abbr=on}}, with spring to fall averages of {{convert|3.08|to|4.8|kg|lboz|abbr=on}}.<ref name=Kwiecinski/><ref>{{citation|work=North Carolina Wild, Wildlife Profiles|title=Woodchuck, Marmota monax}}</ref> Seasonal weight changes reflect [[Circannual cycle|circannual]] deposition and use of fat. Groundhogs attain progressively higher weights each year for the first two or three years, after which weight plateaus.<ref name=Kwiecinski/>

Groundhogs have four [[Incisor|incisors]], which grow {{convert|1.5|mm|in|frac=32}} per week. Constant usage wears them down by about that much each week.<ref>{{cite web|author=Leon M. Lederman Science Education Center|work=Fermilab Flora and Fauna Virtual Exhibit|title=Woodchuck|url=https://ed.fnal.gov/entry_exhibits/woodchuck/woodchuck.html|access-date=February 13, 2018|archive-date=August 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809200709/http://ed.fnal.gov/entry_exhibits/woodchuck/woodchuck.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Unlike the incisors of many other rodents, the incisors of groundhogs are white to ivory-white.<ref>{{citation|work=Ohio DNR, ODNR Division of WILDLIFE|title=Woodchuck (Groundhog) -''Marmota monax''}}</ref><ref name="Schoonmaker"/>{{rp|20}} Groundhogs are well-adapted for digging, with powerful, short legs and broad, long claws. The groundhog's tail is shorter than that of other Sciuridae—only about one-fourth of body length.