129.

Portuguese Field Vole

Microtus rozianus

French: Campagnol de Bocage / German: Portugal-Erdmaus / Spanish: Topillo de campo lusitano

Taxonomy. Arvicola rozianus Bocage, 1865, Gerla, near Coimbra, Portugal.

Formely treated as a subspecies of M. agrestis but now elevated to species status based on highly divergent nucleotide sequences. Despite low estimate of divergence ofthis lineage (c.70,000 years ago), no gene flow was found between rozianus and lavernedii. Monotypic.

Distribution. NW Spain and N Portugal.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 100 mm, tail 39 mm (from a single specimen from north-western Spain). No specific data are available for body weight. The Portuguese Field Vole is morphologically indistinguishable from the Short-tailed Field Vole ( M. agrestis) and the Mediterranean Field Vole (M. lavernedu). Auditory bullae are small and flattened.

Habitat. Communities of rushes ( Juncus maritimus, Juncaceae), stands of reeds ( Phragmites australis, Poaceae), and marshlands with halophytic vegetation ( Spartina maritima, Poaceae; Salicornia europaea, Sarcocornia perennis, and Atriplex portulacoides, all Amaranthaceae).

Food and Feeding. The Portuguese Field Vole is herbivorous, with a diet similar to the Short-tailed Field Vole.

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 as a distinct species. Distribution of the Portuguese Field Vole is small, but it was the second most abundant vole retrieved from owl pellets in northern Portugal, where it was classified as “not threatened.”

Bibliography. Krapp & Niethammer (1982), Marques et al. (2015), Miller (1912a), Paupério et al. (2012), Santos-Reis & Mathias (1996), Vale-Gongalves & Cabral (2014).