54.

White-tailed Mountain Vole

Alticola albicauda

French: Campagnol a queue blanche / German: WeilRschwanz-Gebirgswiihimaus / Spanish: Topillo de montana de cola blanca

Taxonomy. Arvicola albicauda True, 1894, “Braldu Valley, Baltistan [= Northern Areas, Parkistan].”

Widely used name albicaudus have been changed as the original albicauda is invariable. In the past, A. albicauda was synonymized with A. royler. Monotypic.

Distribution. Known from only a handful specimens collected at high elevations in Kashmir (NE Pakistan and NW India).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 101-108 mm, tail 28-32 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. The Whitetailed Mountain Vole is small and short-tailed. Pelage is moderately soft, with hairs up to 15 mm long. There are four pairs of nipples. Back is light gray, clouded rusty, and belly is whitish gray. Tail is densely covered with hairs and well-tufted, white or light gray throughout. Feet are white, with nude palmar and plantar surface. Skull is lightly built, with no ridges. Molars are rootless, with long drawn-out appearances. Dental fields are squeezed, and wide reentrant folds are filled with little cement.

Habitat. Rocky areas at elevations of 3600-4250 m.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List (as Alticola albicaudus). Distribution of the White-tailed Mountain Vole is in the disputed Kashmir region where little research has been done. Conservation Assessment and Management Plan for South Asian Non-volant Small Mammals concluded that the White-tailed Mountain Vole is probably highly threatened and recommended “an ex situ [breeding] program for insurance purposes” and additional research.

Bibliography. Molur et al. (2005), Rossolimo & Pavlinov (1992), Shenbrot & Krasnov (2005).