Northern collared lemming

Northern collared lemming
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Cricetidae
Subfamily:	Arvicolinae
Genus:	Dicrostonyx
Species:	D. groenlandicus
Binomial name
Dicrostonyx groenlandicus (Traill, 1823)
Northern collared lemming range (not including the Wrangel lemming) [1]
Synonyms
kilangmiutakAnderson & Rand, 1945 rubricatus(Richardson, 1889)vinogradovi Ognev, 1948

Collared lemming lying on ground

The northern collared lemming or Nearctic collared lemming (Dicrostonyx groenlandicus), sometimes called the Peary Land collared lemming in Canada, is a small lemming found in Arctic North America and Wrangel Island. At one time, it was considered to be a subspecies of the Arctic lemming (Dicrostonyx torquatus). Some sources believe several other species of collared lemmings found in North America are actually subspecies of D. groenlandicus. ^[2]

Description

It has a short chunky body covered with thick grey fur with a thin black stripe along its back and light grey underparts.^{[ citation needed ]} It has small ears, short legs and a very short tail.^{[ citation needed ]} It has a pale brown collar across its chest.^{[ citation needed ]} In winter, its fur turns white, and it has large digging claws on its front feet.^{[ citation needed ]} It is 14 cm (5.5 in) long with a 1.5 cm (0.59 in) tail and weighs about 40 g (1 oz).^{[ citation needed ]}

Distribution and habitat

It is found in the tundra of northern Canada, Alaska and Greenland. A disjunct population is also present on Wrangel Island in Siberia; this population was formerly considered its own species, the Wrangel lemming (D. vinogradovi). ^{[3] [4] [5]}

Diet

It feeds on grasses, sedges and other green vegetation in summer, and twigs of willow, aspen and birches in winter.^{[ citation needed ]}

Predators

Predators include snowy owls, gulls, wolverines, the Arctic fox and the polar bear.^{[ citation needed ]}

Breeding

Female lemmings have two or three litters of four to eight young in a year. The young are born in a nest in a burrow or concealed in vegetation.^{[ citation needed ]}

Behaviour

It is active year-round, day and night.^{[ citation needed ]} It makes runways through the surface vegetation and also digs burrows above the permafrost.^{[ citation needed ]} It burrows under the snow in winter.^{[ citation needed ]} Lemming populations go through a three- or four-year cycle of boom and bust.^{[ citation needed ]} When their population peaks, lemmings disperse from overcrowded areas.^{[ citation needed ]}

References

1. Cassola, F. (2017) [errata version of 2016 assessment]. "Dicrostonyx groenlandicus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016 e.T42618A115195764. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T42618A22331908.en .
2. Musser, G. G.; Carleton, M. D. (2005). "Superfamily Muroidea". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 971–972. ISBN   978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC   62265494.
3. Gerrie, R. & Kennerley, R. (2017) [errata version of 2016 assessment]. "Dicrostonyx vinogradovi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016 e.T6569A115082805. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T6569A22331837.en . Retrieved 2021-09-05.
4. "Dicrostonyx groenlandicus (Traill, 1823)". ASM Mammal Diversity Database. American Society of Mammalogists . Retrieved 2021-09-05.
5. "The Mammals of Russia: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference". ResearchGate. Retrieved 2021-09-05.