58.

Tuva Mountain Vole

Alticola tuvinicus

French: Campagnol de Touva / German: Tuwa-Gebirgswiihimaus / Spanish: Topillo de montana de Tuva

Other common names: Tuva Silver Vole

Taxonomy. Alticola tuvinicus Ognev, 1950, vicinity of town Kyzyl, Tuvan Republic (S Siberia), Russia.

Alticola tuvinicus was frequently synonymized with A. argentatus or A. roylei, and A. olchonensis was treated as a subspecies of A. tuvinicus . Monotypic.

Distribution. S Russia (Khakassia and Tuva) and NW Mongolia (Mongol Altai); isolated population around Lake Khuvsgul in N Mongolia.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 99-125 mm, tail 36-49 mm; weight 27-5-54-5 g. The Tuva Mountain Vole is similar in size and body proportion to the Silver Mountain Vole (A. argentatus). Tail is moderately long, 34-42% of head-body length, thick, well-haired, and tufted. Pelageis soft and long, gray or gray-brown dorsally, cream below, frequently heavily washed buff. Tail is clearly bicolored. Skull is strongly built but shallow, much like in the Mongolian Mountain Vole (A. semicanus). Mandible is long and low. Molars are like in other species of Alticola, i.e. hypsodont and rootless, with thin enamel and not much cement in reentrant angles.

Habitat. Rocky places and talus slopes sparsely covered with grasses and occasional bushes and birch ( Betula, Betulaceae) trees. Majority of records in Khakassia and Tuva are from elevations of 400-800 m. The Tuva Mountain Voles spreads deep into flat steppe and occasionally occupies semi-deserts. About 70 plant species have been recorded in occupied sites.

Food and Feeding. More than 40 plant species were identified in diets of Tuva Mountain Voles. Dry plants are hoarded for winter in dry fissures and under stones.

Breeding. Breeding season of the Tuva Mountain Volesstarts in May. Females have up to 2 litters /season; numbers of embryos are 4-5.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Overall distribution is ¢.135,000 km?. In the Mongolian Red List, the Tuva Mountain Vole is in the data deficient category,justified by lack of information on distribution, population size, trends, and threats.

Bibliography. Batsaikhan et al. (2008), Clark et al. (2006), Rossolimo & Pavlinov (1992), Shenbrot & Krasnov (2005), Yudin et al. (1979).