Microtus (Alexandromys) limnophilus Büchner 1889

Microtus (Alexandromys) limnophilus Büchner 1889, Wiss. Res. Przewalski Cent.-Asien Reisen, Zool., I: (Saugeth.): 110.

Type Locality: China, Qinghai.

Vernacular Names: Lacustrine Vole.

Synonyms: Microtus (Alexandromys) flaviventris Satunin 1903; Microtus (Alexandromys) malcolmi Thomas 1911; Microtus (Alexandromys) malygini Courant et al. 1999 .

Distribution: NC China (from N Sichuan, E Qinghai, Gansu, and Shaanxi northeast through Ningxia to C Nei Mongol and NW Xinjiang; Zhang et al., 1997, as M. oeconomus) to W Mongolia.

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Subgenus Alexandromys (including subgenus Pallasiinus sensu Zagorodnyuk, 1990, and Pavlinov et al., 1995 a). Formerly included in M. oeconomus (Corbet, 1978 c; Ellerman and Morrison-Scott, 1951), but Malygin et al. (1990, and references therein) separated limnophilus as a parapatric species in W Mongolia; further evidence of interspecific distinction and of intraspecific karyotypic variation presented by Courant et al. (1999). Correlation and interdependence among non-metric traits with sex, age, and body size discussed by Markowski (1995).