Long-tailed vole
The generic name, Microtus, derives from the Greek words μικρός meaning "small" + οὖς "ear".[4] The type specimen was a female collected by Vernon Orlando Bailey in the Black Hills at an altitude around 5,500 ft (1,700 m) near Custer, South Dakota, on July 19, 1887.[2] The Coronation Island vole, once considered to be a separate species, is now believed to be a subspecies.[5] Merriam also noted some "peculiarities", not otherwise specified, in the original description, which distinguish the long-tailed vole from other species known in the late 1800s.The basal shaft is dumb-bell shaped in cross section and tapers to a blunt point at the end.[10] As such, collected fossils are identified based on probabilities of occurrence within the geographic range or with other associated species.[10] These animals are found in a wide variety of habitats, including alpine meadows and shrubby areas, often near streams.[7] They may live in dense forests of conifers or in more arid, sagebrush type of habitats.[12] In the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, they reside among marshes of hardstem bullrush (Schoenoplectus acutus), cattail (Typha latifolia), baltic rush (Juncus balticus), and sedges (Carex sp.).[7] Near the southern and eastern limits of the geographic range, they tend to reside at higher elevations.[7] The range extends south through the western Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, and Yukon.[10] Long-tailed vole parents will respond to ultrasonic cries made by the newborns in distress.Long-tailed voles are common and have a very widespread geographic distribution, with a number of protected areas within the range.
Conservation statusLeast ConcernIUCN 3.1Scientific classificationEukaryotaAnimaliaChordataMammaliaRodentiaCricetidaeArvicolinaeMicrotusPitymysBinomial nameMerriamSynonymsscientific nametype specimenVernon Orlando BaileyBlack HillsCuster, South DakotaC. Hart MerriamThe American NaturalistChionomysmeadow voleear canalbaculumglans penisos clitoridismalocclusiontestosteronemeibomian glandsWisconsinian glaciationBurnet Cavemontane voleSchoenoplectus acutusalpine meadowsbuffaloberryMalheur National Wildlife RefugeTypha latifoliaJuncus balticusCarex sp.AlbertaBritish ColumbiaNorthwest TerritoriesOregonmicrotinesbarn owlsgreat horned owlslong-eared owlsshort-eared owlsPrairie falconsperegrine falconsred-tailed hawksmarsh hawksmustelidermineslong-tailed weaselsAmerican pine martensInternational Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural ResourcesIUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesMusser, G. G.Wilson, D. E.EutheriaEuarchontogliresArvicoliniArvicolaEuropean water vole (A. amphibius)Southwestern water vole (A. sapidus)Montane water vole (A. scherman)MicrotiniAlexandromysClarke's vole (M. clarkei)Evorsk vole (M. evoronensis)Reed vole (M. fortis)Gerbe's vole (M. gerbei)Taiwan vole (M. kikuchii)Lacustrine vole (M. limnophilus)Maximowicz's vole (M. maximowiczii)Middendorff's vole (M. middendorffi)Mongolian vole (M. mongolicus)Japanese grass vole (M. montebelli)Muisk vole (M. mujanensis)Tundra vole (M. oeconomus)Sakhalin vole (M. sachalinensis)Caucasian snow vole (C. gud)European snow vole (C. nivalis)Robert's snow vole (C. roberti)HyperacriusTrue's vole (H. fertilis)Murree vole (H. wynnei)LasiopodomysBrandt's vole (L. brandtii)Plateau vole (L. fuscus)Mandarin vole (L. mandarinus)LemmiscusSagebrush vole (L. curtatus)Field vole (M. agrestis)Anatolian vole (M. anatolicus)Common vole (M. arvalis)Cabrera's vole (M. cabrerae)Doğramaci's vole (M. dogramacii)Günther's vole (M. guentheri)Tien Shan vole (M. ilaeus)Persian vole (M. irani)Kerman vole (M. kermanensis)Southern vole (M. levis)Paradox vole (M. paradoxus)Qazvin vole (M. qazvinensis)Schidlovsky's vole (M. schidlovskii)Social vole (M. socialis)European pine vole (M. subterraneus)Transcaspian vole (M. transcaspicus)BlanfordimysAfghan vole (B. afghanus)Bucharian vole (B. bucharicus)Juniper vole (B. juldaschi)TerricolaBavarian pine vole (M. bavaricus)Calabria pine vole (M. brachycercus)Daghestan pine vole (M. daghestanicus)Mediterranean pine vole (M. duodecimcostatus)Felten's vole (M. felteni)Liechtenstein's pine vole (M. liechtensteini)Lusitanian pine vole (M. lusitanicus)Major's pine vole (M. majori)