Lemmus nigripes (True, 1894), 1984

Spitsyn, Vitaly M., Bolotov, Ivan N., Kondakov, Alexander V., Klass, Anna L., Mizin, Ivan A., Tomilova, Alena A., Zubrii, Natalia A. & Gofarov, Mikhail Y., 2021, A new Norwegian Lemming subspecies from Novaya Zemlya, Arctic Russia, Ecologica Montenegrina 40, pp. 93-117 : 116-117

Beringian Lemming Lemmus nigripes (True, 1894)

Type locality: Saint George Island , approx. 56.5950°N, 169.5168°W, Pribilof Islands, Alaska, USA [ cytb sequence of a topotype: AY219164] ( Miller & Kellogg 1955; Fedorov et al. 2003) .

Synonyms: L. alascensis Merriam, 1900 [TL: Point Barrow, approx. 71.3338°N, 156.5970°W, Alaska, USA; cytb sequence of a topotype: AY219147] (Miller & Kellogg 1955; Fedorov et al. 2003); L. yukonensis Merriam, 1900 [TL: Charlie Creek (=Charley River), approx. 65.2968°N, 142.7363°W, Yukon River, Alaska, USA] (Miller & Kellogg 1955); L. obensis chrysogaster Allen, 1903 [TL: vicinity of Gichiga, approx. 61.9492°N, 160.3810°E, Magadan Region, Russia; cytb sequence of a topotype: KT877362] (Abramson et al. 2018); L. minusculus Osgood, 1904 [TL: Kakhtul River near its junction with Malchatna River, approx. 59.6514°N, 157.0733°W, Alaska, USA; cytb sequence of a topotype: AY219153] (Miller & Kellogg 1955; Fedorov et al. 2003); L. flavescens Vinogradov, 1926 [TL: Kamchatka, Russia; cytb sequence of the lectotype: KX455619] (Abramson & Petrova 2018); L. harroldi Swarth, 1931 [TL: Nunivak Island, approx. 60.3646°N, 166.2422°W, Alaska, USA] (Miller & Kellogg 1955).

Distribution: Beringian species, the range of which covers northeastern Asia ( Chukotka, northeastern edge of the Magadan Region, and a local isolate on Kamchatka) and northwestern North America (Aleutian Islands, Alaska, and western edge of Yukon) (Fedorov et al. 2003; Abramson & Petrova 2018).

Comments: This species has no less than six synonyms introduced for samples from both sides of the Bering Strait. Most of these names were revised on the basis of sequenced topotypes ( Fedorov et al. 2003; Abramson & Petrova 2018; Abramson et al. 2018). Several samples of Lemmus nigripes from Kamchatka and southern Chukotka share divergent cytb haplotypes, and populations in these regions can represent subspecies-level taxa. Hence, the intraspecific taxonomy of the Beringian Lemming needs to be revised based on an expanded molecular dataset .