TheArvicolinae are asubfamily ofrodents that includes thevoles,lemmings, andmuskrats. They are most closely related to the other subfamilies in theCricetidae (comprising thehamsters andNew World rats and mice[1]). Some authorities place the subfamily Arvicolinae in the familyMuridae along with all other members of the superfamilyMuroidea.[2] Some refer to the subfamily as theMicrotinae (yielding the adjective "microtine")[3] or rank the taxon as a fullfamily, theArvicolidae.[4]
The Arvicolinae are the most populous group ofRodentia in the Northern Hemisphere. They often are found in fossil occlusions of bones cached by past predators such as owls and other birds of prey. Fossils of this group are often used forbiostratigraphic dating of paleontological and archeological sites in North America and Europe.[5]
The most convenient distinguishing feature of the Arvicolinae is the nature of theirmolar teeth, which have prismaticcusps in the shape of alternating triangles. These molars are an adaptation to aherbivorous diet in which the major food plants include a large proportion of abrasive materials such asphytoliths; the teeth get worn down by abrasion throughout the adult life of the animal and they grow continuously in compensation.[6]
Arvicolinae areHolarctic in distribution and represent one of only a few majormuroid radiations to reach theNew World viaBeringia. (The others are the three subfamilies ofNew World rats and mice.) Arvicolines do very well in the subnival zone beneath the winter snowpack, and persist throughout winter without needing tohibernate. They are also characterized by extreme fluctuations in population numbers.
Thephylogeny of the Arvicolinae has been studied using morphological and molecular characters. Markers for the molecular phylogeny of arvicolines included themitochondrial DNA cytochrome b (cyb) gene[7]and the exon 10 of thegrowth hormone receptor (ghr) nuclear gene.[8] The comparison of thecyb andghr phylogenetic results seems to indicate nuclear genes are useful for resolving relationships of recently evolved animals. As compared to mitochondrial genes,nuclear genes display several informative sites in thirdcodon positions that evolve rapidly enough to accumulatesynapomorphies, but slow enough to avoid evolutionary noise.Of note, mitochondrialpseudogenes translocated within the nuclear genome complicate the assessment of the mitochondrial DNAorthology, but they can also be used as phylogenetic markers.[9]Sequencing complete mitochondrial genomes of voles[10] may help to distinguish between authentic genes and pseudogenes.
The complementary phylogenetic analysis of morphological and molecular characters[8][11]suggests:
Some authorities have placed thezokors within the Arvicolinae, but they have been shown[by whom?] to be unrelated.
A 2021 study foundLemmini to be the most basal group of Arvicolinae. The study also foundArvicola to actually fall outside the tribeArvicolini, and to be sister to the tribeLagurini.[12]
^Steppan, S. J.; Adkins, R. A.; Anderson, J. (2004). "Phylogeny and divergence date estimates of rapid radiations in muroid rodents based on multiple nuclear genes".Systematic Biology.53 (4):533–553.doi:10.1080/10635150490468701.PMID15371245.
^Musser, G. G. and M. D. Carleton. 2005. Superfamily Muroidea. Pp. 894-1531in Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder eds. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
^McKenna, M. C. and S. K. Bell. 1997.Classification ofMammals above theSpecies Level. Columbia University Press, New York.
^Klein, Richard (2009).The Human Career: Human Biological and Cultural Origins. London: The University of Chicago Press. p. 25.ISBN978-0-226-43965-5.
^Myers, P., R. Espinosa, C. S. Parr, T. Jones, G. S. Hammond, and T. A. Dewey. 2006.; "The Diversity of Cheek Teeth"; The Animal Diversity Web (online). Accessed November 26, 2011 athttp://animaldiversity.org.
^Conroy CJ, Cook JA. 1999. MtDNA evidence for repeated pulses of speciation within arvicoline and murid rodents. J. Mammal. Evol. 6:221-245.
^Triant DA, DeWoody JA. 2008. Molecular analyses of mitochondrial pseudogenes within the nuclear genome of arvicoline rodents. Genetica 132:21-33.
^Lin Y-H, Waddell PJ, Penny D. 2002. Pika and vole mitochondrial genomes increase support for both rodent monophyly and glires. Gene 294:119-129.
^Robovsky J, Ricánková V, Zrzavy J. 2008. Phylogeny of Arvicolinae (Mammalia, Cricetidae): utility of morphological and molecular data sets in a recently radiating clade. Zool. Scripta 37:571–590.
