Lasiopodomys Lataste, 1887 . Ann. Mus. Civ. Stor. Nat. Genova, 2a, 4:268.

TYPE SPECIES: Arvicola brandtii Radde, 1861 .

COMMENTS: Although systematists agree that Lasiopodomys belongs in Arvicolini, they have disagreed over its generic status. Some have relegated it to a subgenus of Microtus (Allen, 1940; Corbet, 1978c; Corbet and Hill, 1991; Ellerman and Morrison-Scott, 1951). However, Hinton (1926) noted the diagnostic features that sets Lasiopodomys apart as a genus, a ranking broadly acknowledged by both neontologists and paleontologists (Gromov and Polyakov, 1977; Pavlinov and Rossolimo, 1987; Repenning et al., 1990; Smorkacheva et al., 1990; Zagorodnyuk, 1990; Zheng and Li, 1990). The allocation to Microtus has not issued from careful phylogenetic study; until data is obtained suggesting otherwise, Lasiopodomys should be retained as a genus.