163.

Sicilian Pine Vole

Microtus nebrodensis

French: Campagnol de Sicile / German: Sizilien-Kleinwihlmaus / Spanish: Topillo de Sicilia

Taxonomy. Arvicola nebrodensis Mina-Palumbo, 1868, La Madonie, Sicily, Italy.

Microtus nebrodensis is in subgenus Terricola and savi species group. It was separated from M. savii recently based on molecular evidence. As revealed from topology of phylogenetic tree, M. nebrodensis is sister species to the lineage containing savii and brachycercus . Monotypic.

Distribution. Endemic to Sicily.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 96-104 mm, tail 16-26 mm; weight 18-5-21-5 g. The Sicilian Pine Vole is, on average, larger than Savi’s Pine Vole ( M. savii) or the Calabria Pine Vole (M. brachicercus), but otherwise similar to them. Females have two pairs of inguinal nipples and a pair of pectoral ones (six nipples in total). The Sicilian Pine Vole has lower number of vertebrae (45 total) than Savi’s Pine Vole (47). Pelage of the Sicilian Pine Vole is buffy brown on back and silver and shaded yellowish on belly. Skull and dental pattern do not deviate from those of Savi’s Pine Vole.

Habitat. The Sicilian Pine Vole lives at elevations of 175-1700 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 because ofits recent recognition as a separate species.

Bibliography. Amori, Contoli & Nappi (2008), Bezerra et al. (2016), Castiglia et al. (2008), Gornung et al. (2011).