Myodes macrotis

51.

Large-eared Vole

Myodes macrotis

French: Campagnol a grandes oreilles / German: GroRohrrotelmaus / Spanish: Topillo rojo de orejas grandes

Other common names: Large-eared Mountain Vole

Taxonomy. Arvicola macrotis Radde, 1862, “Hohe tuber 7000’ im ostlichen Sajan-Gebirge, uber der Baumgrenze [= above 7000 feet in the eastern Sayan Mountains, above tree line],” Siberia, Russia.

Externally, Myodes macrotis closely resembles species of Alticola and, not surprisingly, was included in Alticola or Aschizomys. Molecular evidence firmly placed macrotis in Myodes as a closest relative to M. glareolus or M. centralis. Three subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

M.m.macrotisRadde,1862—fromCAltaiandSayanMtstotheLakeBaikalandWTransbaikaliarangesinRussiaandMongolia.

M.m.fetisoviGalkina&Jepifantseva,1988—NHentaiMts,ZabaykalskyKrai(Russia).

M. m. vinogradovi Rasorenova, 1933 — W & C Altai Mts in Russia, Mongolia, and N Xinjiang (China).

Descriptive notes. Head—body 93-2-115-4 mm, tail 32-1-45-5 mm; weight 23-7-39-2 g. The Large-eared Vole is chunky, with densely haired and tufted tail and large semicircular ears. Whiskers are long. Tail accounts for ¢.33% of head-body length and is either uniformly white or distinctly bicolored, with all transitions in between. Fur is long (mean 13-2 mm), soft, and gray throughout. Back is shaded buff and is darker than belly. Skull shows no peculiarities;it is lightly ridged, with relatively large braincase. Mandible is shallower than in other species of Myodes. Molars do not differ essentially from pattern seen in the Bank Vole (M. glareolus), except for being rootless.

Habitat. Rocky areas in forest steppe, subalpine, and alpine meadows and rocky tundra at elevations of 1500-3000 m. Habitat is humid and cold at night and in winter. From end of September to mid-May, Large-eared Voles typically live under 1-3 m of SNOW.

Food and Feeding. The Large-eared Vole depends primarily on green plant material and, to a lesser extent, on seeds, fruits, and Cladonia cup lichens. Green plants are more important in alpine tundra than at tree line. Main vascular plants in diets are berries (Vaccinium, Ericaceae), honeysuckle (Lonicera hispida, Caprifoliaceae), Alpine sweetvetch (Hedysarum alpinum, Fabaceae), and mountain avens (Dryas oxyodonta, Rosaceae). The Lage-eared Vole does not cache food.

Breeding. Female Large-eared Voles have two litters annually, each with 4-7 young.

Activity patterns. Circadian activity of the Long-eared Vole is polyphasic. Although mainly sheltering among rocks,it also dig burrows.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Long-eared Vole is fast and capable ofjumping 20-30 cm.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List (as Alticola macrotis).

Bibliography. Borisova et al. (2001), Flint et al. (1965), Luo Zexun et al. (2000), Shenbrot & Krasnov (2005), Sludskiy et al. (1978).