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Microtus townsendii

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Townsend's Vole
(Microtus townsendii)
Range
Taxonomic classification
Order:Rodentia
Suborder:Supramyomorpha
Infraorder:Myomorphi
Superfamily:Muroidea
Family:Cricetidae
Subfamily:Arvicolinae
Tribe:Microtini
Genus:Microtus
Subgenus:Pitymys
Binomial details
Microtus townsendii (Bachman, 1839)

Description

From Cornely & Verts (1998): "Microtus townsendii is a large dark-brownish vole with large broad ears that extend above the fur; tail long, usually blackish or brownish; feet brownish or blackish with brown claws (Bachman, 1839; Bailey, 1900)."

From Verts & Carraway (1998): "Microtus townsendii is a large vole with large ears that extend above the fur, a long brownish or blackish tail, and brownish or blackish feet equipped with brown claws."

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External measurements

Length measurements are in millimeters (mm) and weight measurements are in grams (g), unless stated otherwise. If available, the sample size (n=) is provided. If a range is not provided and n= is not given, then the listed measurement represents an average.

Part of range Reference Total length Tail length Hindfoot length Ear length Mass
California Jameson & Peeters (2004) 169–222 48–70 20–26 15–17 75–82
Canada Naughton (2012) 155–235 42–75 19–29 10–18 40–103
not reported Hall (1981) and Hall & Cockrum (1953); compiled by Cornely & Verts (1988) 169–225 48–70 20–26 15–17 47–82.5 (Maser and Storm, 1970)
Oregon Verts & Carraway (1998) females: 151–220 (n=30); males: 162–226 (n=30) females: 38–62 (n=30); males: 42–84 (n=30) females: 22–28 (n=30); males: 15–36 (n=30) females: 37.2–70.7 (n=30); males: 33.0–82.0 (n=30)


Skull

From Verts & Carraway (1998): "The skull is robust and angular, with heavy ridges; the incisive foramina are long, narrow, and constricted posteriorly."

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Similar species

From Cornely & Verts (1988): "Microtus townsendii can be distinguished from sympatric congeners by the following characters: from M. oregoni by eye >4 mm in diameter, four loops of enamel on lingual side of M3, and a longer tail; from M. canicaudus by nearly uniformly blackish or dark-brownish tail, U-shaped margin of palate, and incisive foramina >6 mm long; from M. richardsoni by six plantar tubercles, incisive foramina not forming narrow slits posteriorly, and incisors not greatly procumbent; from M. californicus by nearly uniformly blackish or dark-brownish tail, incisive foramina widest in the anterior half, and incisors not entirely obscured by nasals in dorsal view; from M. longicaudus by nearly uniformly blackish or dark-brownish tail, tail <50% of head and body length, and incisors not entirely obscured by nasals in dorsal view; from [Microtus drummondii] by M2 with four loop of enamel and tail >30% of head and body length. Distinguishing characteristics were adapted from Dalquest (1948), Hall (1981), Ingles (1965), and Verts and Carraway (1984)."

References

Bachman J. 1839. Description of several new species of American quadrupeds. J. Acad. Sci., Philadelphia, 8:57-7.

Cornely JE, Verts BJ. 1988. Microtus townsendii. Mammalian Species (325): 1-9.

Dalquest WW. 1948. Mammals of Washington. Univ. Kansas Publ., Mus. Nat. Hist., 2:1-444.

Hall ER. 1981. The mammals of North America. Second edition. John Wiley & Sons, New York.

Ingles LG. 1965. Mammals of the Pacific states: California, Oregon, and Washington. Stanford Univ. Press, Stanford, California, 506.

Verts BJ, Carraway LN. 1984. Keys to the mammals of Oregon. Third ed. O.S.U. Book Stores, Inc., Corvallis, Oregon, 178 pp.

Verts BJ, Carraway LN. 1998. Land mammals of Oregon. Berkeley (CA, USA): University of California Press.

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