| Duke of Bedford's vole | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Cricetidae |
| Subfamily: | Arvicolinae |
| Tribe: | Microtini |
| Genus: | Proedromys Thomas, 1911 |
| Species: | P. bedfordi |
| Binomial name | |
| Proedromys bedfordi Thomas, 1911 | |
| Synonyms | |
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TheDuke of Bedford's vole (Proedromys bedfordi) is a species ofrodent in the familyCricetidae.[2] After theLiangshan vole was removed from thisgenus,[3] the Duke of Bedford's vole became theonly member of the genusProedromys. It is found only in mountainous parts of centralChina. It is a rare species and theInternational Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being "vulnerable".
The Duke of Bedford's vole has a head-and-body length of between 75 and 100 mm (3 and 4 in) and a tail length of 14 to 15 mm (0.55 to 0.59 in). The dorsal fur is long and a dull shade of mid-brown, the underparts are whitish-grey. The upper surface of both fore and hind feet is whitish, and the tail is bicoloured, being brown above and whitish below. The skull is robust, the broad incisors are recurved and have grooves on their outer surfaces, and the molars have no roots and continue to grow throughout the animal's life.[4]
The Duke of Bedford's vole is a rare species and is known from only three localities in China; two of these are in southernGansu Province and northernSichuan Province, and the third is theJiuzhaigou National Nature Reserve, where the vole was discovered for the first time in 2003. It is a forest dweller and has been found at elevations between 2,440 and 2,550 m (8,000 and 8,400 ft). It is also known fromfossilised remains and appears to have been more plentiful in thePleistocene age than it is now.[4]
Very little is known of this vole, the size of the total population, the population trend and the area of occupancy. Its extent of occurrence is probably under 20,000 km2 (7,722 mi2). The main threat it faces is the destruction of its mountain habitat by logging or conversion to cropland. Because of its small area of occurrence and these other factors, theInternational Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed the vole's conservation status as being "vulnerable".[1]
