Tree vole
The genus Arborimus is a group of voles found in western North America. The genus name is Latin for "tree mouse". Some sources include this genus with the heather voles, genus Phenacomys, and both are classified in the tribe Phenacomyini. These animals live in forested areas and two species live in trees. They are small rodents with short ears and long legs. They are primarily herbivorous. Predators include owls and mustelids. Species in this genus are notable for their extremely unusual life history; females have an arboreal lifestyle, living up to 30 meters above the ground in trees, while males (despite being capable of climbing) burrow underground or live in piles of vegetation. They live apart for most of the year aside from during the breeding season, when males climb the trees to mate with the females and build nests. Following the breeding season, males climb back to the ground, leaving the females to rear the offspring in the trees.
| Tree voles | |
|---|---|
| |
| Red tree vole, (Arborimus longicaudus) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Cricetidae |
| Subfamily: | Arvicolinae |
| Tribe: | Phenacomyini |
| Genus: | Arborimus Taylor, 1915 |
| Type species | |
| Phenacomys longicaudus True, 1890
| |
| Species | |
The genus Arborimus is a group of voles found in western North America. The genus name is Latin for "tree mouse". Some sources include this genus with the heather voles, genus Phenacomys, and both are classified in the tribe Phenacomyini.[1]
These animals live in forested areas and two species live in trees. They are small rodents with short ears and long legs. They are primarily herbivorous. Predators include owls and mustelids.
Species in this genus are notable for their extremely unusual life history; females have an arboreal lifestyle, living up to 30 meters above the ground in trees, while males (despite being capable of climbing) burrow underground or live in piles of vegetation. They live apart for most of the year aside from during the breeding season, when males climb the trees to mate with the females and build nests. Following the breeding season, males climb back to the ground, leaving the females to rear the offspring in the trees.[2][3][4]
Classification
[edit]The complete list of species is:
- White-footed vole (Arborimus albipes)
- Red tree vole (Arborimus longicaudus)
- Sonoma tree vole (Arborimus pomo)
Based on mitochondrial DNA, A. pomo and A. albipes are more closely related to one another than either are to A. longicaudus.[5][6] This is in contrast to previous suggestions of A. albipes being the sister species to all other species in the genus.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ Database, Mammal Diversity (2021-11-06), Mammal Diversity Database, Zenodo, retrieved 2021-12-12
- ^ Naish, Darren. "North America: land of obscure, freaky voles". Scientific American Blog Network. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
- ^ Green, Tamara. "Arborimus longicaudus (red tree vole)". Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
- ^ "ECOS: Species Profile". ecos.fws.gov. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
- ^ Bellinger, R., S. Haig, E. Forsman, and T. Mullins. 2005. Taxonomic relationships among Phenacomys voles endemic to western United States. Journal of Mammalogy, 86:201-210.
- ^ Blois, J. L. and B. S. Arbogast. 2006. Conservation genetics of the Sonoma Tree Vole (Arborimus pomo) based on mitochondrial and amplified fragment length polymorphism markers. Journal of Mammalogy, 87:950-960.
- ^ Musser, G. G. and M. D. Carleton. 2005. Superfamily Muroidea. In Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder eds.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
"Arborimus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
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