Smith's vole | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Rodentia |
Family: | Cricetidae |
Subfamily: | Arvicolinae |
Genus: | Craseomys |
Species: | C. smithii |
Binomial name | |
Craseomys smithii (Thomas, 1905) | |
Synonyms | |
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Smith's vole (Craseomys smithii) is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is also known as Smith's red-backed vole and is found only in Japan.
This vole is named after Richard Gordon Smith, (1858–1918) who, after falling out with his wife, traveled the world hunting for animals and keeping a record of his travels and discoveries in eight large leather-bound diaries. He spent some time in Japan where he collected mammals for the British Museum, [2] including the type specimen of this vole. [3]
There has been considerable discussion as to the phylogeny of this species. The molars grow continually during the animal's life and because of this trait, it was at one time placed in the genus Phaulomys . However, studies using mitochondrial and nuclear ribosomal DNA have shown that it is closely related to the Japanese and Asian species, Craseomys rufocanus , and the Korean species, Craseomys regulus and that there is no support for its inclusion in Phaulomys. The ever-growing molars in C. smithii are now believed to be independently derived from a rooted Craseomys ancestor endemic to Japan. [4]
Smith's vole is found on the Japanese islands of Dogo, Honshu, Kyushu and Shikoku. [4] Also at Oki and four cities and one town in the region of Mikawa. [5]
The color of Smith's vole varies from brownish-yellow to mid brown with the underparts a paler shade of brown. The body length is about 115 millimetres with a tail about 60 millimetres. The weight varies between 20 and 35 g (0.71 and 1.23 oz). The fur is dense and short, the muzzle blunt and the ears rounded. The dental formula is 1.0.0.31.0.0.3 and the molars grow continuously throughout life. [5]
Smith's vole lives in forests, plantations and farmland in montane areas above about 400 metres. It is absent from alluvial plains. It makes burrows in leaf litter and prefers damp conditions. It is a common species in chosen habitat but some of its populations are fragmented by road development, land reclamation, dam building and deforestation. The diet is entirely vegetarian and it feeds on the stems and leaves of green plants and on seeds. The breeding season varies in different locations and there may be one or two litters per year, each of one to six young, but usually two or three. [5]
The long-tailed vole, in some areas known as the San Bernardino long-tailed vole, is a small vole found in western North America. They have short ears and a long tail. Their fur is gray brown with light gray underparts. They are around 18 cm (7.1 in) long with an 8 cm (3.1 in) tail and weigh about 50 g (1.8 oz).
The short-tailed field vole, short-tailed vole, or simply field vole is a grey-brown vole, around 10 cm in length, with a short tail. It is one of the most common mammals in Europe, with a range extending from the Atlantic coast to Lake Baikal. These voles are found in moist grassy habitats, such as woodland, marsh or on river banks. Although they make shallow burrows, they usually build nests above ground. They are an important food source for owls and some other predators and their population size tends to peak and trough cyclically. Field voles breed prolifically, mainly in summer, but often all year round, even under snow. Females produce up to seven litters a year, each averaging from four to six young which are weaned after about fourteen days. The short-tailed field vole is both widespread and common and is listed as being of "Least Concern" by the IUCN.
The bank vole is a small vole with red-brown fur and some grey patches, with a tail about half as long as its body. A rodent, it lives in woodland areas and is around 100 millimetres (3.9 in) in length. The bank vole is found in much of Europe and in northwestern Asia. It is native to Great Britain but not to Ireland, where it has been accidentally introduced, and has now colonised much of the south and southwest.
The gray-tailed vole also known as the gray-tailed meadow vole or gray-tailed meadow mouse, is a rodent in the genus Microtus of the family Cricetidae. Voles are small mammals, and this species lies roughly in the middle of their size range. First collected in 1895, it is endemic to the Willamette Valley, Oregon, and Clark County, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Historically, they were found in the prairie areas of the Valley and, though many of these areas have been converted for agricultural purposes, these animals remain common. For reasons that remain unclear, vole population densities in any area may fluctuate widely from season to season and year to year. They are preyed upon by owls, hawks, and carnivorous mammals, and their parasites include fleas and ticks. These voles build burrows and complex tunnel networks, which they sometimes share with other burrowing animals. Relatively little is known about their behavior in the wild, because they are elusive and unlikely to enter traps.
The royal vole, also called the Korean red-backed vole, is a species of vole endemic to the Korean Peninsula. It lives underground in a burrow, emerging at night to feed on grasses, seeds and other vegetation. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed its conservation status as being of "least concern".
The grey red-backed vole or the grey-sided vole is a species of vole. An adult grey red-backed vole weighs 20-50 grams. This species ranges across northern Eurasia, including northern China, the northern Korean Peninsula, and the islands of Sakhalin and Hokkaidō. It is larger and longer-legged than the northern red-backed vole, which covers a similar range and it is also sympatric with the Norwegian lemming.
The silver mountain vole is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. They are distinguished by their silver-grey pelage, long vibrissae, rootless hypsodont molars and angular skull shape. Like many mammals of the Eurasian Steppe eco-region, they are well adapted to life in high altitudes, and can be found in mountain areas of Central Asia from Saur Mountains in the north-east to Kugitang Range in the west, and to Tibet and the Himalayas in the south.
The Afghan vole is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in south-central Asia.
Sokolov's dwarf hamster is a species of rodent in the hamster and vole family Cricetidae. Previously listed as conspecific with Chinese striped hamster, it has been listed as a separate species since 1988. It has a distinctive dark stripe down its back on and otherwise grey body. It is found in China and Mongolia, and lives in burrows beneath desert shrubs.
The northern mole vole is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is distributed over large parts of Eastern Europe and Asia.
The Zaisan mole vole, or eastern mole vole, is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in central Asia.
The Ganzu vole, Eva's red-backed vole, Eva's vole, Gansu vole, or Taozhou vole is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in mountain forests in China. The IUCN has assessed it as being of "least concern".
The Shansei vole is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found only in north-central China where its habitat is forests.
The Mediterranean pine vole is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in France, Andorra, Portugal, and Spain where it lives in a network of shallow tunnels.
The creeping vole, sometimes known as the Oregon meadow mouse, is a small rodent in the family Cricetidae. Ranging across the Pacific Northwest of North America, it is found in forests, grasslands, woodlands, and chaparral environments. The small-tailed, furry, brownish-gray mammal was first described in the scientific literature in 1839, from a specimen collected near the mouth of the Columbia River. The smallest vole in its range, it weighs around 19 g (0.67 oz). At birth, they weigh 1.6 g (0.056 oz), are naked, pink, unable to open their eyes, and the ear flaps completely cover the ear openings. Although not always common throughout their range, there are no major concerns for their survival as a species.
The Japanese red-backed vole, Wakayama red-backed vole, or Anderson's red-backed vole is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found only on the island of Honshu in Japan. It was first described by the British zoologist Oldfield Thomas in 1905. Thomas named it in honor of scientific collector Malcolm Playfair Anderson. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists it as "least concern".
The Duke of Bedford's vole is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. After the Liangshan vole was removed from this genus, the Duke of Bedford's vole became the only member of the genus Proedromys. It is found only in mountainous parts of central China. It is a rare species and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being "vulnerable".
The Chinese zokor is a species of rodent in the family Spalacidae. It is endemic to China, ranging from Qinghai Province eastwards to Beijing in steppe and alpine grasslands. Henri Milne-Edwards first described it in 1867. Eradication programs in the 1990s in Qinghai Province resulted in a population decline to less than a third of the former population. It is considered common and has been assessed as Least Concern by IUCN.
The Clethrionomyini are a tribe of forest voles in the subfamily Arvicolinae. This tribe was formerly known as Myodini, but when genus Myodes was deemed to be a junior synonym, the tribe was renamed. Species in this tribe are:
Imaizumi's red-backed vole is a species of vole in the family Cricetidae. It is found in Japan and was initially designated as a subspecies of the Japanese red-backed vole, with studies of cranial and molar patterns supporting this. However, genetic tests in the late 1990s provide support for the theory that C. imaizumii is indeed a separate species, and it is now considered such pending the completion of more detailed studies.