Ungava collared lemming | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Rodentia |
Family: | Cricetidae |
Subfamily: | Arvicolinae |
Genus: | Dicrostonyx |
Species: | D. hudsonius |
Binomial name | |
Dicrostonyx hudsonius (Pallas, 1778) | |
Distribution map of the Ungava collared lemming |
The Ungava collared lemming or Labrador collared lemming (Dicrostonyx hudsonius) is a small North American lemming.
This species has a short, chunky body covered with brownish-grey fur, with a thin dark stripe along the back and a yellow line along its sides. It has small ears, short legs and a very short tail, and a reddish collar across its chest and a reddish patch behind its ears. In winter, it is covered with white fur, and develops enlarged digging claws on its front feet. They average 14 cm long with a 1.5 cm tail, and weigh about 60 g.
These animals are found in the tundra of northern Quebec and Labrador. They feed on grasses, sedges and other green vegetation in summer, and twigs of willow, aspen, and birches in winter. Predators include snowy owls, mustelids, and Arctic foxes.
Females 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.
They are active year-round, day and night. They make runways through the surface vegetation and also dig burrows above the permafrost. They burrow under the snow in winter. Lemming populations go through a three- or four-year cycle of boom and bust. When their population peaks, lemmings disperse from overcrowded areas.
Remains of these animals dating back to the end of the last ice age have been discovered in the Ottawa valley, far south of their current range.
Franklin's ground squirrel is a species of squirrel native to North America, and the only member of the genus Poliocitellus. Due to the destruction of prairie, the populations of Franklin's ground squirrel have dwindled, approaching levels of concern. Its decline in the eastern portion of its range is mostly attributed to habitat fragmentation.
The muskrat is a medium-sized semiaquatic rodent native to North America and an introduced species in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands over a wide range of climates and habitats. It has important effects on the ecology of wetlands, and is a resource of food and fur for humans.
The North American least shrew is one of the smallest mammals, growing to be only up to 3 inches long. It has a long pointed snout and a tail never more than twice the length of its hind foot. The dense fur coat is either grayish-brown or reddish-brown with a white belly. Its fur becomes lighter in the summer and darker in the winter. Although similar in appearance to several species of rodents, all shrews are members of the order Eulipotyphla and should not be mistaken for a member of the order Rodentia. The North American least shrew's eyes are small and its ears are completely concealed within its short fur, giving it very poor eyesight and hearing.
The Townsend's mole is a fossorial mammal in the family Talpidae, and is the largest North American mole. It was named after the American naturalist John Kirk Townsend. The name was selected at the request of Thomas Nuttall as a patronym to honor Townsend's contribution.
The sagebrush vole is a tiny vole found in western North America. It is the only member of the genus Lemmiscus.
The northern bog lemming is a small North American lemming. It is one of two species in the genus Synaptomys, the other being the southern bog lemming. It is sometimes placed in its own genus, Mictomys.
The tundra vole or root vole is a medium-sized vole found in Northern and Central Europe, Asia, and northwestern North America, including Alaska and northwestern Canada. In the western part of the Netherlands, the tundra vole is a relict from the ice age and has developed into the subspecies Alexandromys oeconomus arenicola.
The southern bog lemming is a small North American lemming. Its range overlaps with the other species in genus Synaptomys, the northern bog lemming, in southeastern Canada, but extends farther south.
The Richardson's collared lemming is a small North American lemming. At one time, they were considered to be a subspecies of the Arctic lemming, Dicrostonyx torquatus. Some sources believe they are a subspecies of the northern collared lemming, Dicrostonyx groenlandicus.
The northern collared lemming or Nearctic collared lemming, 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. Some sources believe several other species of collared lemmings found in North America are actually subspecies of D. groenlandicus.
The Eurasian pygmy shrew, often known simply as the pygmy shrew, is a widespread shrew of the northern Palearctic.
The short-tailed field vole, short-tailed vole, or simply field vole is a grey-brown vole, around 10 cm in length, with a short tail. It is one of the most common mammals in Europe, with a range extending from the Atlantic coast to Lake Baikal. These voles are found in moist grassy habitats, such as woodland, marsh or on river banks. Although they make shallow burrows, they usually build nests above ground. They are an important food source for owls and some other predators and their population size tends to peak and trough cyclically. Field voles breed prolifically, mainly in summer, but often all year round, even under snow. Females produce up to seven litters a year, each averaging from four to six young which are weaned after about fourteen days. The short-tailed field vole is both widespread and common and is listed as being of "Least Concern" by the IUCN.
The bank vole is a small vole with red-brown fur and some grey patches, with a tail about half as long as its body. A rodent, it lives in woodland areas and is around 100 millimetres (3.9 in) in length. The bank vole is found in much of Europe and in northwestern Asia. It is native to Great Britain but not to Ireland, where it has been accidentally introduced, and has now colonised much of the south and southwest.
Anderson's gerbil is a species of rodent distributed from Tunisia to Israel. Their habitats and diets are similar to other gerbils. The gestation period is 20–22 days and the average litter size is four or five. The IUCN formerly listed the junior synonym Gerbillus allenbyi as vulnerable.
The Canadian lemming or Nearctic brown lemming is a small North American lemming.
Dicrostonyx is a genus of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It contains the collared lemmings or varying lemmings. They are the only North American rodents that turn completely white in winter. It contains the following species:
The Arctic lemming is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae.
Sloggett's vlei rat or ice rat is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in southern Lesotho and South Africa where its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland, swamps, and rocky areas. Its name commemorates Col. Arthur Sloggett who served in South Africa and collected at Deelfontein in 1902. This is a common species and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated it as being of "least concern".
The Afghan pika is a species of small mammal in the pika family, Ochotonidae. It is found in Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Turkmenistan and the IUCN lists it as being of "least concern".
A lemming is a small rodent, usually found in or near the Arctic in tundra biomes. Lemmings form the subfamily Arvicolinae together with voles and muskrats, which form part of the superfamily Muroidea, which also includes rats, mice, hamsters, and gerbils. In popular culture, a longstanding myth holds that they exhibit herd mentality and jump off cliffs, committing mass suicide.