Gull meadow vole
| Gull meadow vole | ||||||||||||
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| Microtus pennsylvanicus nesophilus | ||||||||||||
| Bailey , 1898 |
The Gull meadow vole ( Microtus pennsylvanicus nesophilus ) is an extinct subspecies of the meadow vole ( Microtus pennsylvanicus ) within the genus of field mice . It was endemic to Great Gull Island , near Long Island . The Gull meadow vole was discovered in 1889 and described as a separate species in 1898.
description
The Gull meadow vole reached a length of 18.8 cm, the tail length was 4.1 cm and the hind foot length 2.1 cm. Compared to the meadow vole, the fur was darker. Her skull was shorter but wider than the nominate shape . The top was yellowish nut brown and mottled with black hair. The underside was tinted dark cinnamon. The face and nose were dark. The tail was blackish on top and dark brown on the underside.
Way of life
Almost nothing is known about the way of life. She was a bottom dweller on the beaches and lived on grasses.
die out
The distribution of the Gull meadow vole was limited to the 7 hectare Great Gull Island at the entrance to Long Island Sound . In 1897, the US Army began building the Fort Michie fortification, completely destroying the habitat of the gull vole and many terns. In August 1898 the zoologist Arthur Holmes Howell visited the island and could no longer prove any more specimens. 15 copies are in the collection of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service . In 1981, the mainland meadow vole was released on Great Gull Island.
literature
- 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 .
- Glover M. Allen: Extinct and vanishing Mammals of the Western Hemisphere, with the Marine species of all the Oceans (= Special publication of the American Committee for International Wild Life Protection. No. 11, ZDB -ID 971409-1 ). American Committee for International Wild Life Protection, Cambridge MA 1942.
- Daniel G. Elliot: A Synopsis of the Mammals of North America and the adjacent Sea (= Field Columbian Museum. Publication. Zoological Series. Vol. 2, No. 1, ISSN 0097-3904 = Field Columbian Museum. Publication. No. 45 ). Field Columbian Museum, Chicago IL 1901.