Gel problem ming

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Gel problem ming
Systematics
Superfamily : Mice-like (Muroidea)
Family : Burrowers (Cricetidae)
Subfamily : Voles (arvicolinae)
Tribe : Lagurini
Genre : Eolagurus
Type : Gel problem ming
Scientific name
Eolagurus luteus
( Eversmann , 1840)

The Gelblemming ( Eolagurus luteus ) is a rodent from the subfamily of voles (Arvicolinae). It occurs in eastern Kazakhstan , Russia , western Mongolia and northern China . Due to their high reproduction rates, the animals can occur in very high densities in some years, but in other years the populations can also almost completely collapse regionally.

features

The Gelblemming reaches a head-trunk length of 10.5 to 19.5 centimeters with a tail of 12 to 22 millimeters in length . The rear foot length is 19 to 21 millimeters, the ear length 5 to 9 millimeters. The fur is pale, sandy brown, partly with darker washings in the neck and around the eyes. The sides of the body are sandy yellow and merge into the pale yellow belly side. The top of the feet and the hair on the soles are yellow-brown. The thumb (pollex) of the front feet has a small, pointed claw. The young animals often have an indistinct light stripe on the middle of the back, which is missing in the adult animals. The Gelblemming differs from the Przewalski lemming ( Eolagurus przewalskii ) mainly in its yellow belly color, while the Przewalski lemming is white. The thumb claw of the Przewalski lemming is also larger and blunt.

The skull has a length of 28.0 to 32.0 millimeters. It corresponds to that of the Przewalski-Lemming and differs from this mainly in the smaller tympanic sacs , which do not extend so far forward, and in the shape of the mastoid process.

distribution

Gelblemming occurs in eastern Kazakhstan , Russia , western Mongolia and in northern China in northern Xinjiang . In Mongolia the species lives in the Djungarian Alatau and in the Gobi-Altai , in Russia in the Altai in the border area to China and Kazakhstan. The western limit of distribution is now in the Zeisan Basin in Kazakhstan, while the species was much more widespread until the end of the 19th century.

Way of life

The Gelblemming lives in the dry steppe, on stable sand dunes and in semi-desert areas at high altitudes, occurring in spring and summer at lower elevations and retreating again when the grasses become too dry. He is diurnal and feed on herbivores of grasses, roots, tubers and seeds. To collect the food, the animals quickly come out of their hiding places in holes and crevices and withdraw there to eat. As soon as the available food around a hole is used up, they look for a new hiding place.

Reproduction takes place in the summer months and the females can have three litters in a year, each consisting of six to nine young. The young animals reach sexual maturity after three to four weeks. The population density of the animals can vary greatly from year to year, depending on the weather, in years with very high reproductive numbers they reach population densities of 1000 to 3000 animals per hectare in Xinjiang. On the other hand, the population can collapse in very dry years and the animals can only be detected locally. In years with large populations, diseases can also spread quickly.

Systematics

The Gelblemming is classified as an independent species within the genus Eolagurus , which consists of two species. The first scientific description of the species comes from the German naturalist Eduard Friedrich Eversmann , who described the species in 1840 using individuals from Kazakhstan in the northwest of the Aral Sea .

Status, threat and protection

Gelblemming is classified as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) due to its high population and large distribution area. There are no risks for the entire population of the species, but regionally they are affected by overgrazing by grazing animals used for agriculture as well as the drying up of water sources and periods of drought.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Darrin Lunde, Andrew T. Smith: Yellow Steppe Vole. In: Andrew T. Smith , Yan Xie: A Guide to the Mammals of China. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ 2008, ISBN 978-0-691-09984-2 , pp. 221-222.
  2. ↑ a b Eolagurus luteus in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2016.2. Posted by: N. Batsaikhan, D. Avirmed, D. Tinnin, 2008. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  3. ↑ Eolagurus luteus . In: Don E. Wilson , DeeAnn M. Reeder (Eds.): Mammal Species of the World. A taxonomic and geographic Reference. 2 volumes. 3. Edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 .

literature

  • Darrin Lunde, Andrew T. Smith: Yellow Steppe Vole. In: Andrew T. Smith , Yan Xie: A Guide to the Mammals of China. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ 2008, ISBN 978-0-691-09984-2 , pp. 221-222.

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