Yunnan bank vole

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Yunnan bank vole
Systematics
Superfamily : Mice-like (Muroidea)
Family : Burrowers (Cricetidae)
Subfamily : Voles (arvicolinae)
Tribe : Myodini
Genre : Père david voles ( Eothenomys )
Type : Yunnan bank vole
Scientific name
Eothenomys miletus
( Thomas , 1914)

The Yunnan bank vole or Chinese mountain red-backed vole ( Eothenomys miletus ) is a rodent species from the subfamily of voles (Arvicolinae). It occurs in southern China in Yunnan and Sichuan .

features

The Yunnan bank vole is a comparatively large species of the genus and reaches a head-trunk length of 11.0 to 12.0 centimeters with a tail of 4.0 to 5.0 centimeters in length . The rear foot length is 18 to 21 millimeters, the ear length 9 to 11 millimeters. It is the largest species of the Eothenomys melanogaster species complex and is slightly larger than the very similar Kachin bank vole ( Eothenomys cachinus ), from which it is geographically separated by the Saluen . The back fur is soft, long and dense, it is reddish-brown and merges into the blue-gray peritoneum on the flanks. It differs from the Père David bank vole ( Eothenomys melanogaster ), with which it occurs sympatricly in most of the distribution area , in its size and significantly higher skull. The Kachin bank vole, on the other hand, has a smaller and flattened skull and a different number of enamel ridges on the molars of the two species .

distribution

The Yunnan bank vole occurs in the mountainous regions of southern China in Yunnan and in southern Sichuan east of the Saluen . Occurrences in Guizhou are documented but are in doubt.

Way of life

Almost no information is available about the way of life of the species. The Yunnan bank vole lives in dense mountain forest regions at altitudes of 2300 to 3000 meters.

Systematics

The Yunnan bank vole is classified as a separate species within the genus Eothenomys , which consists of eight species. The first scientific description comes from the British zoologist Oldfield Thomas , who described the species in 1914 using individuals from western Yunnan from an altitude of 2134 meters. Partly the species was regarded as a subspecies of the Père David bank vole and it partly contained the Kachin bank vole, today all three are considered separate species in the Eothenomys melanogaster species complex.

As a rule, no subspecies are differentiated within the species, but two subspecies are documented in the literature with Eothenomys miletus miletus and Eothenomys miletus confinii , the latter being partially regarded as synonymous with the Kachin bank vole .

Status, threat and protection

The Yunnan bank vole is classified as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). This is justified with the relatively large distribution area and the assumed large populations of the species that also occur in protected areas. Potential endangerment risks for the species are not known.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b c d Darrin Lunde, Andrew T. Smith: Yunnan Chinese 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. 224-225.
  2. ↑ a b c d Eothenomys miletus . 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 .
  3. ↑ a b c d Eothenomys miletus in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016.2. Listed by: AT Smith, CH Johnston, 2008. Retrieved October 19, 2016.

literature

  • Darrin Lunde, Andrew T. Smith: Yunnan Chinese 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. 224-225.

Web links