Bavarian pine vole
The Bavarian pine vole (Microtus bavaricus) is a vole from the Austrian, Italian, and Bavarian Alps of Europe. It lives in moist meadows at elevations of 600 to 1,000 meters.
| Bavarian pine vole (Microtus bavaricus) | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Cricetidae |
| Subfamily: | Arvicolinae |
| Genus: | Microtus |
| Subgenus: | Terricola |
| Species: | M. bavaricus |
| Binomial name | |
| Microtus bavaricus (König, 1962) | |
Conservation
There are 23 museum specimens of this species; it was previously known to live in only one location, Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria, which was altered by the construction of a hospital in the 1980s. No specimens of this rodent were recorded after 1962 and it was thought to be extinct. However, a population apparently belonging to this species was discovered in 2000 in Northern Tyrol, just across the German-Austrian border. An Austrian scientist, Friederike Spitzenberger, stumbled upon the species in a live trap. Its species status was confirmed by genetic studies, and it was found to be very closely related to Liechtenstein's vole (Microtus liechtensteini) from the Eastern Alps.[2] Further research is required to determine the size and range of the population and the species has been re-assessed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN.
See also
References
- Meinig, H. (2019). "Microtus bavaricus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T13461A90865453. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T13461A90865453.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- Martínková, Natália; Zima, Jan; Jaarola, Maarit; Macholán, Miloš; Spitzenberger, Friederike (2007). "The origin and phylogenetic relationships of Microtus bavaricus based on karyotype and mitochondrial DNA sequences" (PDF). Folia Zool. 56 (1): 39–49.
- Spitzenberger, F.; Zima, J.; Meinig, H. & Vohralík, V. (2008). "Microtus bavaricus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008: e.T13461A3985949. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T13461A3985949.en. Database entry includes justification for why this species is listed as critically endangered.
- 'A Gap in Nature' by Tim Flannery and Peter Schouten (2001), published by William Heinemann
- Musser, G. G. and M. D. Carleton. 2005. Superfamily Muroidea. pp. 894–1531 in Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder eds. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
- The Extinction Website, published by Peter Maas
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Microtus bavaricus