Alticola (Alticola) barakshin Bannikov 1947

Alticola (Alticola) barakshin Bannikov 1947, Bull. Moscow Soc. Nat., Biol., 52 (4): 217.

Type Locality: S Mongolia, Gobi Altai, Gurvan Saihan Ridge, Dzun Saihan.

Vernacular Names: Gobi Altai Mountain Vole.

Distribution: Low to middle altitudes in Tuva region (Kyzyl Valley), Russia; southward through Gobi and Mongol Altais, rocky outcrops over transAltai Gobi Desert and Barun Khurai Valley, to S Mongolia and adjacent China (Hou et al., 1995).

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Subgenus Alticola . Included in A. stoliczkanus by Corbet (1978 c) and Pavlinov and Rossolimo (1987). Subsequently revised as species and morphologically contrasted with the geographically adjacent A. semicanus in N Mongolia and A. stoliczkanus in China (Rossolimo et al., 1988, 1994; Rossolimo and Pavlinov, 1992; those authors described the range overlap of A. barakshin and A. tuvinicus and the possibile contact between the former and A. argentatus . Chromosomal data provided by Yatsenko (1980).