51.

Large-eared Vole

Myodes macrotis

French: Campagnol a grandes oreilles / German: GroRohrrotelmaus / Spanish: Topillo rojo de orejas grandes

Other common names: Large-eared Mountain Vole

Taxonomy. Arvicola macrotis Radde, 1862, “Hohe tuber 7000’ im ostlichen Sajan-Gebirge, uber der Baumgrenze [= above 7000 feet in the eastern Sayan Mountains, above tree line],” Siberia, Russia.

Externally, Myodes macrotis closely resembles species of Alticola and, not surprisingly, was included in Alticola or Aschizomys . Molecular evidence firmly placed macrotis in Myodes as a closest relative to M. glareolus or M. centralis . Three subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

M.m.macrotisRadde,1862—fromCAltaiandSayanMtstotheLakeBaikalandWTransbaikaliarangesinRussiaandMongolia.

M.m.fetisoviGalkina&Jepifantseva,1988—NHentaiMts,ZabaykalskyKrai(Russia).

M. m. vinogradovi Rasorenova, 1933 — W & C Altai Mts in Russia, Mongolia, and N Xinjiang (China).

Descriptive notes. Head—body 93-2-115-4 mm, tail 32-1-45-5 mm; weight 23-7-39-2 g. The Large-eared Vole is chunky, with densely haired and tufted tail and large semicircular ears. Whiskers are long. Tail accounts for ¢.33% of head-body length and is either uniformly white or distinctly bicolored, with all transitions in between. Fur is long (mean 13-2 mm), soft, and gray throughout. Back is shaded buff and is darker than belly. Skull shows no peculiarities;it is lightly ridged, with relatively large braincase. Mandible is shallower than in other species of Myodes . Molars do not differ essentially from pattern seen in the Bank Vole ( M. glareolus), except for being rootless.

Habitat. Rocky areas in forest steppe, subalpine, and alpine meadows and rocky tundra at elevations of 1500-3000 m. Habitat is humid and cold at night and in winter. From end of September to mid-May, Large-eared Voles typically live under 1-3 m of SNOW.

Food and Feeding. The Large-eared Vole depends primarily on green plant material and, to a lesser extent, on seeds, fruits, and Cladonia cup lichens. Green plants are more important in alpine tundra than at tree line. Main vascular plants in diets are berries ( Vaccinium, Ericaceae), honeysuckle ( Lonicera hispida, Caprifoliaceae), Alpine sweetvetch ( Hedysarum alpinum, Fabaceae), and mountain avens ( Dryas oxyodonta, Rosaceae). The Lage-eared Vole does not cache food.

Breeding. Female Large-eared Voles have two litters annually, each with 4-7 young.

Activity patterns. Circadian activity of the Long-eared Vole is polyphasic. Although mainly sheltering among rocks,it also dig burrows.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Long-eared Vole is fast and capable ofjumping 20-30 cm.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List (as Alticola macrotis).

Bibliography. Borisova et al. (2001), Flint et al. (1965), Luo Zexun et al. (2000), Shenbrot & Krasnov (2005), Sludskiy et al. (1978).