from Europe is the oldest known ground squirrel species, and it does not seem to be particularly close to any of the two to three living lineages (subtribes) of Marmotini. The oldest fossils are from the Early Oligocene, more than 30 million years ago (Mya), but the genus probably persisted at least until the mid-Miocene, some 15 Mya.

Where the Marmotini originated is unclear. The subtribes probably diverged