Insular vole

The insular vole or St. Matthew Island vole (Microtus abbreviatus) is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It occurs only on St. Matthew Island and the adjacent Hall Island, in Alaska.[1] On these Bering Sea islands, insular voles live in damp lowland areas, on the lower slopes of mountains, and on rye grass-covered beaches. They are diurnal and eat plant matter. Birds and Arctic foxes (which are the only other mammals on the island) prey on the voles.[2]

Insular vole
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Cricetidae
Subfamily: Arvicolinae
Genus: Microtus
Species:
M. abbreviatus
Binomial name
Microtus abbreviatus
Miller, 1899

References

  1. Frey, J.; Garibaldi, A. & Hammerson, G. (2008). "Microtus abbreviatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008. Retrieved 3 February 2010.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  2. "North American Mammals: Insular Vole". Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.


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