Microtus (Terricola) gerbei Gerbe 1879

Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Rodentia - Family Cricetidae, Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 2, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 955-1189 : 998

Microtus (Terricola) gerbei Gerbe 1879

Microtus (Terricola) gerbei Gerbe 1879 , Le Naturaliste, 1: 51.

Type Locality: France, Loire-Inferieure, Dreneuf.

Vernacular Names: Pyreneean Pine Vole.

Synonyms: Microtus (Terricola) brunneus (Miller 1908) ; Microtus (Terricola) planiceps (Miller 1908) ; Microtus (Terricola) pyrenaicus (de Sélys Longchamps 1847) .

Distribution: SW France north to the Loire, and south through the Pyrenees Mtns of France and N Spain ( Castien and Gosalbez, 1992; Krapp, 1982 d; Mitchell-Jones et al., 1999).

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Subgenus Terricola , savii species group (Chaline et al., 1988; Zagorodnyuk, 1990; Pavlinov et al., 1995 a). Reviewed by Krapp (1982 d) under the name pyrenaicus ; according to Spitz (1978), the latter is a nomen dubium and gerbei assumes priority, an opinion currently maintained ( Mitchell-Jones et al., 1999). Corbet (1978 c) included gerbei in M. savii , but chromosomal and craniometric studies underscore its specific integrity (Kratochvíl and Kral, 1974; Spitz, 1978). Chromosomal data (as pyrenaicus ) summarized by Zima and Kral (1984 a).

Brunet-Lecomte and Chaline (1993) and Brunet-Lecomte et al. (1995) identified gerbei and pyrenaicus as subspecies based on morphometric analysis of molar morphology. Another multivariate analysis of dental measurements phenetically placed M. gerbei (as pyrenaicus ) between M. duodecimcostatus and M. subterraneus and disclosed minor morphological differences among the subspecies pyrenaicus , planiceps , and brunneus (Brunet-Lecomte et al., 1994) . Those authors also hypothesized the gradual evolution of M. gerbei from middle Pleistocene M. mariaclaudiae .