73.

Hinton’s Red-backed Vole

Eothenomys hintoni

French: Campagnol de Hinton / German: Hinton-Rotelmaus / Spanish: Topillo rojo de Hinton

Taxonomy. Eothenomys (Anteliomys) custos hintoni Osgood, 1932, “Wushi [= Wuxu], southwest of Tatsienlu, Szechwan [= Sichuan], China. Altitude 12,000 feet [= 3658 m].”

Eothenomys hintoni is in the subgenus Ermites. It has been treated as a subspecies of E. custos, but is now recognized as a distinct species based on recent phylogenetic studies. Although nominally monotypic, hintoni consists of three divergent evolutionary lineages that may be indicative of unrecognized taxonomic diversity. Monotypic.

Distribution. S Sichuan (S China).

Descriptive notes. Head—body 92-93 mm,tail 51-59 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. Hinton’s Red-backed Vole is small, with long tail, 50% or more of head-body length. Fur is long and soft, dark brown on back, more buff along flanks, and gray on belly. Feet and tail are blackish brown. Skull is relatively narrow across zygomatic arches and moderately deep. M* is complex, and most individuals have five inner salient angles.

Habitat. Mountains at elevations of 2400-3600 m.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Not assessed on The IUCN Red List due to its recent recognition as a species.

Bibliography. Kaneko (1996), Liu Shaoying, Liu Yang et al. (2012).