28.

Southern Bog Lemming

Synaptomys cooperi

French: Lemming de Cooper / German: Sidlicher Moorlemming / Spanish: Lemming de pantano meridional

Other common names: Kansas Bog Lemming, Southern Lemming Mouse

Taxonomy. Synaptomys cooper: Baird, 1858, type locality not given. Fixed by B. P. Bole, Jr. and P. N. Moulthrop in 1942 asJackson, Carroll County, New Hampshire, USA. Subspecies paludis and relictus are known only from their type localities. Seven subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

S.c.cooperiBaird,1858—SEManitoba,SOntario,SQuebec,NewBrunswick,andNovaS.c.,Canada,andN&CMinnesota,mostofWisconsin,Michigan,Indiana,Ohio,NewYork,mostofPennsylvania,extremeNWNewJersey,Vermont,NewHampshire,Maine,WMassachusetts,andNWConnecticut,USA.

S.c.gossiiCoues,1877—extremeSESouthDakota,SMinnesota,SWWisconsin,Nebraska,Kansas,Iowa,Missouri,Illinois,extremeW&SIndiana,NEArkansas,WKentucky,andNWTennessee,USA.

S.c.helaletesMerriam,1896—SEVirginiaandNENorthCarolina,USA.

S.c.kentuckiBarbour,1956—CNKentucky,USA.

S.c.paludisHibbard&Rinker,1942—MeadeCountyStateParkinSWKansas,USA.

S.c.relictusJ.K.Jones,1958—RockCreekStateFishHatcheryinDundyCounty,SWNebraska,USA.

S. c. stoner Rhoads, 1893 — E Massachusetts, most of Connecticut, Rhode Island, extreme SE Pennsylvania, most of NewJersey, E Kentucky, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, N & W Virginia, E Tennessee, W North Carolina, and extreme NE Georgia, USA.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 105-131 mm, tail 13-24 mm, ear 8-14 mm, hindfoot 16-24 mm; weight 21-4-50 g. The Southern Bog Lemming has substantial morphological variation acrossits distribution. It is relatively small and has small eyes, short ears, and short tail. Dorsum varies from cinnamon or bright chestnut to brown and is heavily interspersed with black hair. Venteris lighter, ranging from silver to gray. Juveniles are dark gray. Unlike Northern Bog Lemmings (S. borealis), hairs at bases of ears are not brighter than rest of pelage, and females have three pairs of mammae instead of four. Dental formulaisI 1/1, C0/0,P0/0,M 3/3 (x2) = 16. Lower molars in Southern Bog Lemmings do not have closed triangles on labial sides and almost no outer reentrant angles. Upper incisors are longitudinally grooved, while lower incisors are slender and sharply pointed. Palate has a poorly developed posterior spinous process.

Habitat. Sphagnum bogs and mesic habitats ranging from grasslands to deciduous and coniferous forests. Southern Bog Lemmings are often found near shrubs.

Food and Feeding. Southern Bog Lemmings eat leaves, fruits, fungi, bark, and roots of grasses (e.g. Poa sp., Festuca sp., Panicum sp., all Poaceae), sedges, mosses, and other vegetation.

Breeding. Southern Bog Lemmings breed in May—August, and gestation lasts 23-26 days. Litters have 1-8 young, with three most common. Breeding occurs in all seasons, although it reportedly slows in winter.

Activity patterns. Southern Bog Lemmings are active year-round and apparently can be active nocturnally and diurnally. Various studies have reported either one or the other of these patterns of activity.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Home range of Southern Bog Lemmings has been reported at less than 0-3 ha in sphagnum bog and an even smaller home range in grass-sedge marsh. Males wander more widely than females.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red Last.

Bibliography. Bole & Moulthrop (1942), Hafner et al. (1998), Hall (1981), Linzey (1983), Musser & Carleton (2005), Rose (1981), Wilson, D.E. & Ruff (1999), Wilson, G.M. & Choate (1997).