Western red-backed vole

Last updated

Contents

Western red-backed vole
Myodes californicus.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Cricetidae
Subfamily: Arvicolinae
Genus: Clethrionomys
Species:
C. californicus
Binomial name
Clethrionomys californicus
(Merriam, 1890)
Myodes californicus species distribution.svg
Distribution of the Western red-backed vole
Synonyms
  • Myodes californicus
  • M. mazama(Merriam, 1897)
  • M. obscurus (Merriam, 1897) [2]

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 C. Hart Merriam under its original scientific name Evotomys californicus. [3] The type specimen was obtained at near Eureka, California. [3] It was an adult male collected by Theodore Sherman Palmer on June 3, 1889. [4]

Description

Animal identified as western red-backed vole, taken in Hillsboro, Oregon Western red-backed vole.jpg
Animal identified as western red-backed vole, taken in Hillsboro, Oregon
Skull dimensions [3]
MinimumMaximum
Basal length21.8 mm (0.86 in)23.3 mm (0.92 in)
Nasal length7.2 mm (0.28 in)7.5 mm (0.30 in)
Zygomatic breadth13.3 mm (0.52 in)14.2 mm (0.56 in)
Mastoid breadth11.5 mm (0.45 in)12.4 mm (0.49 in)
Upper molar alveolus4.5 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. [5] It feeds primarily on fruiting bodies of hypogeous fungi. [5] These mycorrhizal fungi are the symbionts of the forest trees around it. Rhizopogon vinicolor is one such which is associated with the Douglas-fir ( Pseudotsuga spp.). Fruiting of the fungus takes place in well decayed timber when the nutrients are becoming exhausted. Because the fruiting bodies are underground, the spores are not liberated into the air as in most fungal species. However, the spores are found in the vole's droppings and are deposited throughout its burrows, thus enabling the fungus to spread and form associations with uninfected trees. It has been found that in a clear-cut forest where all the dead wood and trimmings are removed, the mycorrhiza stops fruiting, the vole population dies out and newly planted trees fail to thrive. This is an example of a three way symbiosis, as the vole gains food from the fungus and spreads its spores, and the fungus gains photosynthetic products from the tree which benefits from the nutrients produced by the fungus. [6]

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 biological indicator to monitor environmental contamination, especially persistent organic pollutants such as PCBs which build up in the vole's fatty tissues.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<i>Clethrionomys</i> Genus of rodents

Clethrionomys is a genus of small, slender voles. In recent years the genus name was changed to Myodes, however a 2019 paper found that Myodes was actually a junior synonym for Lemmus, thus making it unusable. As such, Clethrionomys is re-established as the proper genus name. At the same time, several species were moved to the genus Craseomys, so members of both genera are referred to as red-backed voles. This genus was described by Johannes von Nepomuk Franz Xaver Gistel under the pseudonym "G. Tilesius". Some authors cite the taxonomic authority as "Gistel, 1850", whereas others still use "Tilesius, 1850".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern red-backed vole</span> Species of rodent

The northern red-backed vole is a small slender vole found in Alaska, northern Canada, Scandinavia and northern Russia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern red-backed vole</span> Species of rodent

The southern red-backed vole or Gapper's red-backed vole is a small slender vole found in Canada and the northern United States. It is closely related to the western red-backed vole, which lives to the south and west of its range and which is less red with a less sharply bicolored tail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bank vole</span> Species of rodent

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gray-tailed vole</span> Species of rodent

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grey red-backed vole</span> Species of rodent

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Oregon Coast Range</span> Mountain range in Oregon, United States

The Central Oregon Coast Range is the middle section of the Oregon Coast Range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region, and located in the west-central portion of the state of Oregon, United States roughly between the Salmon River and the Umpqua River and the Willamette Valley and the Pacific Ocean. This approximately 90-mile (140 km) long mountain range contains mountains as high as 4,097 feet for Marys Peak. Portions of the range are inside the Siuslaw National Forest and three wilderness areas exist as well: Drift Creek Wilderness, Cummins Creek Wilderness and Rock Creek Wilderness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red tree vole</span> Species of rodent

The red tree vole is a rodent of the Pacific Northwest, found in the US states of Oregon and California. They were formerly known as Phenacomys longicaudus and have also been called the red tree mouse.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Creeping vole</span> Species of rodent

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. At birth, they weigh 1.6 g, 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 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:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydnellum peckii</span> Species of fungus

Hydnellum peckii is a fungus in the genus Hydnellum of the family Bankeraceae. It is a hydnoid species, producing spores on the surface of vertical spines or tooth-like projections that hang from the undersurface of the fruit bodies. It is found in North America, Europe, and was recently discovered in Iran (2008) and Korea (2010). Hydnellum peckii is a mycorrhizal species, and forms mutually beneficial relationships with a variety of coniferous trees, growing on the ground singly, scattered, or in fused masses.

<i>Bridgeoporus</i> Genus of fungi

Bridgeoporus is a fungal genus in the family Polyporaceae. A monotypic genus, it contains the single polypore species Bridgeoporus nobilissimus, first described to science in 1949. Commonly known both as the noble polypore and the fuzzy Sandozi, this fungus produces large fruit bodies that have been found to weigh up to 130 kilograms (290 lb). The upper surface of the fruit body has a fuzzy or fibrous texture that often supports the growth of algae, bryophytes, or vascular plants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ecology of the North Cascades</span> Ecosystems of the Cascade mountain range in northern Washington state and southern British Columbia

The Ecology of the North Cascades is heavily influenced by the high elevation and rain shadow effects of the mountain range. The North Cascades is a section of the Cascade Range from the South Fork of the Snoqualmie River in Washington, United States, to the confluence of the Thompson and Fraser Rivers in British Columbia, Canada, where the range is officially called the Cascade Mountains but is usually referred to as the Canadian Cascades. The North Cascades Ecoregion is a Level III ecoregion in the Commission for Environmental Cooperation's classification system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mammals of Glacier National Park (U.S.)</span>

There are at least 14 large mammal and 50 small mammal species known to occur in Glacier National Park.

<i>Hygrophorus bakerensis</i> Species of fungus

Hygrophorus bakerensis, commonly known as the Mt. Baker waxy cap, the brown almond waxy cap or the tawny almond waxy cap, is a species of fungus in the family Hygrophoraceae. It is characterized by its medium to large, relatively slender-statured fruit bodies with an almond odor, and growth often on or near rotting conifer wood. The slimy cap is brown in the center and cream to white near its curved edges. The gills and the stem are white, and in moist environments are often covered with droplets of a translucent liquid. The mushroom is known only from the United States, where it is common in coniferous forests throughout the Pacific Northwest. It was initially collected in Washington State on Mount Baker, a volcano. Although edible, the mushroom is not considered to be of high quality.

<i>Armillaria ostoyae</i> Species of fungus

Armillaria ostoyae is a species of fungus (mushroom), pathogenic to trees, in the family Physalacriaceae. In the western United States, it is the most common variant of the group of species under the name Armillaria mellea. A. ostoyae is common on both hardwood and conifer wood in forests west of the Cascade Range in Oregon, United States. It has decurrent gills and the stipe has a ring. The mycelium invades the sapwood and is able to disseminate over great distances under the bark or between trees in the form of black rhizomorphs ("shoestrings"). In most areas of North America, Armillaria ostoyae can be separated from other species by its physical features: cream-brown colors, prominent cap scales, and a well-developed stem ring distinguish it from other Armillaria. Like several other Armillaria, the mycelium of Armillaria ostoyae can display bioluminescence, resulting in foxfire.

<i>Tuber oregonense</i> Species of fungus

Tuber oregonense, commonly known as the Oregon white truffle, is a species of edible truffle in the genus Tuber. Described as new to science in 2010, the North American species is found on the western coast of the United States, from northern California to southern British Columbia west of the Cascade Range. A mycorrhizal fungus, it grows in a symbiotic association with Douglas fir. It overlaps in distribution with the closely related T. gibbosum, but they have different growing seasons: T. oregonense typically appears from October through March, while T. gibbosum grows from January to June. The fruit bodies of the fungus are roughly spherical to irregular in shape, and resemble small potatoes up to 5 cm (2 in) in diameter. Inside the truffle is the gleba, which is initially white before it becomes a marbled tan color. The large, often thick-walled, and strongly ornamented spores are produced in large spherical asci. The truffle is highly prized for its taste and aroma. Some individuals have claimed success in cultivating the truffles in Christmas tree farms.

<i>Rhizopogon vinicolor</i> Species of fungus

Rhizopogon vinicolor is a species complex of ectomycorrhizal fungus which forms a mutualistic relationship with the Douglas-fir. The species was first described scientifically by American mycologist Alexander H. Smith in 1966.

References

  1. 1 2 3 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.
  2. Don E. Wilson; DeeAnn M. Reeder (2005). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. JHU Press. pp. 1022–. ISBN   978-0-8018-8221-0.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Alexander, Lois F.; Verts, B. J. (10 December 1992). "Clethrionomys californicus" (PDF). Mammalian Species (406): 1–6. doi:10.2307/3504252. JSTOR   3504252. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  4. 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.
  5. 1 2 3 United States. Dept. of the Interior (1991). Recovery plan for the northern spotted owl - draft. U.S. Dept. of the Interior. pp. 366–368.
  6. Schultz, Stewart T; Kellerman, Kathy; Megahan, John (1998). The Northwest coast : a natural history. Portland, OR: Timber Press. pp. 275–276. ISBN   0881924180.