93.

Gudaur Snow Vole

Chionomys gud

French: Campagnol du Goudaouri / German: Kaukasus-Schneemaus / Spanish: Topillo nival del Caucaso

Other common names: Caucasian Snow Vole

Taxonomy. Microtus gud Satunin, 1909, Gudaur, near Krestovskii Pass, Caucasus Mountains, Georgia.

Chionomys gud is in the roberti species group. In the past, it was synonymized with C. nivalis . The two species differ in morphological details, karyotype, and molecular sequences. Phylogenetic reconstructions retrieved deeply divergent lineages of C. gud, with the population from Turkey (former subspecies lasistanius) recently ranked as a separate species. Three subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

C.g.gudSatunin,1909—CGreaterCaucasus.

C.g.lghesicusShidlovsky,1919—DagestanandNAzerbaijan.

C. g. nenjukovi Formosov, 1931 — W Greater Caucasus.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 112-130 mm, tail 57-79 mm; weight 34-63 g. The Gudaur Snow Vole is moderately large, with tail 54-67% of head-body length. Eyes are of modest size, and ears are circular and densely covered with hairs and overtop fur. Whiskers are up to 40 mm and white. Females have two pairs of pectoral and two pairs of inguinal nipples (eight nipples in total). Fur is long and soft, with slate hair bases. Back is smoke gray, clouded brown, and belly is dull white, irregularly clouded slaty. Tail is uniformly whitish or slightly bicolored, covered by hairs that terminate into 4mm pencil. Feet are long and whitish. Skull is of typical arvicoline shape and proportions, relatively shallow; zygomatic arches are not very expanded. Interorbital region is wide, and supraorbital ridges never merge into sagittal crest. Bullae are relatively short. Incisors are orthodont, covered by yellow to orange-yellow enamel. Molars are rootless, with alternating dental fields, and have cement in reentrant angles. M? is complex in structure, with four inner salient angles. M has four closed triangles; antero-lingual triangle is widely confluent with anterior cup.

Habitat. Rocky places with crevices that provide humid shelters at elevations of 500-3000 m. Gudaur Snow Voles were recorded in alpine pastures and forests of spruce ( Picea) or fir ( Abies), both Pinaceae . They were only rarely found in the same habitat as the European Snow Vole ( C. nivalis). Robert’s Snow Vole (C. roberti) presumably outcompetes the Gudaur Snow Vole in forests.

Food and Feeding. The Gudaur Snow Vole feeds mainly on green plants. Food is cached for winter. Starting in June, they hoard plants, dry them in the sun, and store them in piles. Caches contain up to 6 kg of dry material.

Breeding. Female Gudaur Snow Voles have 2-3 litters/year; a fourth litter is rare. Numbers of embryos are 2-6/female; mean in Turkish population is 3-6 embryos. Females from early litters can have up to two litters in their first year.

Activity patterns. Daily activity has two peaks. The Gudaur Snow Vole is rock-dwelling and seeks shelter in cracks and fissures; it also digs short and simple burrows. It can skillfully climb rocks and trees up to 1-5 m aboveground.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

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

Bibliography. Bannikova et al. (2013), Gromov & Erbajeva (1995), Krystufek (1999c), KryStufek & Vohralik (2005), Shenbrot & Krasnov (2005).