tarbagans

Noun

tarbagan (plural tarbagans)

1. Any member of the species Marmota sibirica of marmots that live on the steppes of Central Asia.
   • One can only guess which rodent was most readily to be found near Lake Issyk-Koul in 1338 but the experience of later epidemics points to the tarbagan or Manchurian marmot, a beguiling squirrel-like creature much hunted for its skin.1969, Philip Ziegler, The Black Death, Folio Society, published 2007, page 13