Western red-backed vole
Western red-backed vole | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Rodentia |
Family: | Cricetidae |
Subfamily: | Arvicolinae |
Genus: | Clethrionomys |
Species: | C. californicus
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Binomial name | |
Clethrionomys californicus (Merriam, 1890)
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Distribution of the Western red-backed vole | |
Synonyms | |
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The western red-backed vole (Clethrionomys californicus) is a species of vole in the family Cricetidae. It is found in California and Oregon in the United States and lives mainly in coniferous forest. The body color is chestnut brown, or brown mixed with a considerable quantity of black hair gradually lightening on the sides and grading into a buffy-gray belly, with an indistinct reddish stripe on the back and a bicolored tail about half as long as the head and body.
Taxonomy
The western red-backed vole was initially described by
Description
Minimum | Maximum | |
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Basal length | 21.8 mm (0.86 in) | 23.3 mm (0.92 in) |
Nasal length | 7.2 mm (0.28 in) | 7.5 mm (0.30 in) |
Zygomatic breadth | 13.3 mm (0.52 in) | 14.2 mm (0.56 in) |
Mastoid breadth | 11.5 mm (0.45 in) | 12.4 mm (0.49 in) |
Upper molar alveolus | 4.5 mm (0.18 in) | 5.3 mm (0.21 in) |
The length of the western red-backed vole ranges from 121–165 mm (4.8–6.5 in) overall, with a tail between 34–56 mm (1.3–2.2 in), hindfoot 17–21 mm (0.67–0.83 in), and ear 10–14 mm (0.39–0.55 in).[3] The height ranges between 18–21 mm (0.71–0.83 in).[citation needed]
The species is closely related to the southern red-backed vole (Clethrionomys gapperi), which lives to the north and east of the range of this species, and is redder, with a more sharply bicolored tail.[citation needed] They are differentiated based on a reddish stripe on the dorsum of the western red-backed vole.[3] The western red-backed vole also has characteristic differences in the anatomy of the hard palate.[3]
Distribution and habitat
It is found in northern California and western Oregon in the United States. The northern limit is defined by the Columbia River, with the range extending south to around 100 km (62 mi) north of the San Francisco Bay.[3] The range extends from the summits of the Cascade Range in the east, to the Pacific Ocean.[1][3] They live mainly in mature coniferous forest but also inhabit mixed fir-oak forest. They live in the Transition and Canadian life zones, described by Vernon Orlando Bailey in The mammals and life zones of Oregon.[3]
Behavior and ecology
The western red-backed vole lives largely underground in an extensive system of burrows.
The western red-backed vole plays an important role as prey to a number of species, including martens, ermines, and long-tailed weasels.[3] The red tree vole, northern flying squirrel, and western red-backed vole may constitute more than 75% of the northern spotted owls diet.[5]
No fossil remains have been identified yet.[3]
The species breeds between February and November on the slopes of the Cascade Range in north Oregon, as well as all year to the west of the Cascade Range, with 2–7 young per litter and a gestation period of around 18 days.[3]
Human Interaction
Conservation status
According to the IUCN, the species conservation status is of "least concern".[1]
Biomonitoring
In areas where vole populations live in close proximity to industrial areas, voles are used as a
References
- ^ a b c Linzey, A.V. & NatureServe (Hammerson, G.) (2008). "Myodes californicus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008. Retrieved 30 June 2009. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of least concern.
- ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0.
- ^ JSTOR 3504252. Archived from the original(PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
- ^ Hinton, Martin Alister Campbell (1926). Monograph of the voles and lemmings (Microtinae) living and extinct : . Department of Zoology. [Mammals] : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive. British Museum (Natural History) London. pp. 275–276. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
- ^ a b c United States. Dept. of the Interior (1991). Recovery plan for the northern spotted owl - draft. U.S. Dept. of the Interior. pp. 366–368.
- ISBN 0881924180.