From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Species of rodent
The
Bavarian pine vole
(
Microtus bavaricus
) is a
vole
from the
Austrian
,
Italian
, and
Bavarian
Alps
of Europe. It lives in moist meadows at elevations of 600 to 1,000 meters.
During Ice Age
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During the last Ice Age, it survived in three glacial refuges, including in the Northern Alps.
Conservation
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There are 23 museum specimens of this species; it was previously known to live in only one location,
Garmisch-Partenkirchen
in
Bavaria
, which was altered by the construction of a hospital in the 1980s. No specimens of this
rodent
were recorded after 1962 and it was thought to be
extinct
. However, a population apparently belonging to this species was discovered in 2000 in Northern
Tyrol
, just across the German-Austrian border.
A 2010 study found that it was discovered in Slavonia, Croatia, rather than its original habitat of Austria or Germany. Although it was difficult to analyze the exact cause due to the limited population, it was assumed that the habitat had changed due to competition with other species.
An Austrian scientist, Friederike Spitzenberger, stumbled upon the species in a live trap. Its species status was confirmed by genetic studies, and it was found to be very closely related to Liechtenstein's vole (
Microtus liechtensteini
) from the Eastern Alps.
[2]
Further research is required to determine the size and range of the population and the species has been re-assessed as
Critically Endangered
by the
IUCN
.
Genetic relationships with other subgenera
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Genetic studies with other subgenera have shown that
Microtus bavaricus
does not have similar or closely related genetic sequence data compared to other subgenera. In particular, it formed a clear separate cluster from
Microtus liechtensteini
and did not appear to show a close relationship with
Microtus tatricus
.
See also
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References
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