Volemys musseri

96.

Marie's Vole

Volemys musseri

French: Campagnol de Musser / German: Marie-\Wiihimaus / Spanish: Topillo de Marie

Other common names: \Wester Sichuan Vole

Taxonomy. Microtus musseri Lawrence, 1982, Qionglai Shan, 48- 2 km W Wenquan, W Sichuan, China.

Volemys musseri was formerlylisted in Microtus but placed in a new genus Volemys by I. V. Zagorodnyuk in 1990. Monotypic.

Distribution. Qionglai Shan (2315-3660 m), NC Sichuan, China.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 90-129 mm, tail 47-72 mm, ear 15-18 mm, hindfoot 18-23 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. Dorsal pelage of Marie’s Vole is dark brown; ventral pelage is dark gray, with pale buffy wash. Tail is bicolored, dark brown above and buffy white below. Females have eight mammae and 5-6 plantar pads. Uppersides of hands and feet are buffy. Marie’s Vole is similar to the Sichuan Vole (V. millicens) but larger. Skull is unridged in adults and has dorsally flattened profile. M' and M® have posterior-lingual triangles, convergent with last labial triangle.

Habitat. Rocks and cliffs in alpine meadows. Marie’s Voles were sampled in the same trap line with Pere David’s Red-backed Vole (Eothenomys melanogaster) and Irene Mountain Vole (Neodon irene).

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List. Threats to Marie’s Vole are unknown. There are reported populations protected in Anzihe Nature Reserve and Miyaluo Provincial Park.

Bibliography. Johnston & Smith (2016c¢), Lawrence (1982), Liu Shaoying, Sun Zhiyu et al. (2012), Lunde (2008), Zagorodnyuk (1990).