Eolagurus przewalskii (Buchner, 1889)

Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier & Thomas E. Lacher, Jr, 2017, Cricetidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 7 Rodents II, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 204-535 : 316

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6707142

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6706836

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03F06D13-FF89-2040-0D89-154A0996F8B0

treatment provided by

Carolina

scientific name

Eolagurus przewalskii
status

 

84. View Plate 12: Cricetidae

Przewalski’s Steppe Lemming

Eolagurus przewalskii View in CoL

French: Campagnol de Przewalski / German: Przewalski-Lemming / Spanish: Lemming de estepa de Przewalski

Other common names: Tibetan Yellow Steppe Lemming

Taxonomy. Eremiomus przewahkii Buchner, 1889 , shore of Iche-zaidemin Nor, Tsaidam region, Qinghai, China.

In the past, E. przewalskii was considered a subspecies of E. luteus . Monotypic.

Distribution. NW & S Mongolia and China (NW Gansu, Inner Mongolia [= Nei Mongol], and Qinghai). View Figure

Descriptive notes. Head-body 125-130 mm, tail 9-20 mm, ear 4-5 mm, hindfoot 18-21 mm; weight 58-80 g. Fur color of head and upperparts of Przewalski’s Steppe Lemming is light sandy-yellow, underparts are light whitish, and tail is uniformly light white. There are four plantar pads. Claw of first pollex is large and blunt. Auditory bullae are large and inflated, projecting backward from level of occipital condyle. M? has two inner and three outer angles. M, has seven partially isolated dentine areas on masticatory surface; anterior loop is simple oval and not completely isolated from antero-lingual triangle. Chromosomal complement is not known.

Habitat. Semi-deserts and deserts at elevations up to 3100 m. Przewalski’s Steppe Lemming occupies areas with clay, sandy, or gravel soils and sparse shrubs and grasses, preferring depressions of meso-relief and banks of dry riverbeds.

Food and Feeding. Przewalski’s Steppe Lemming feeds mainly on green plant parts but occasionally eats seeds but in relatively small amounts. It stores dried green plant parts for winter; winter stores can be up to 3-6 kg/storage chamber.

Breeding. Reproductive period of Przewalski’s Steppe Lemming lasts from mid-March to September. Litters have 3-11 young (average 6-4). Adult females can produce 2 litters/year.

Activity patterns. Przewalski’s Steppe Lemming is nocturnal and crepuscular in summer.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Przewalski’s Steppe Lemming probably lives in a family group that occupy a single burrow with 1-3 nest chambers (10-30 cm in diameter) at depths of 11-130 cm, 1-3 storage chambers, and 1-3 latrines connected by tunnels. Surface areas of burrows are 2:1-19-3 m*. There are 3-7 entrances, and total lengths of tunnels are 3-5-19-5 m.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red Lust.

Bibliography. Bannikov (1954), Gromov & Polyakov (1977), Sokolov & Orlov (1980), Zhang Yongzu et al. (1997), Zhao Kentang (1984).

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Rodentia

SubOrder

Myomorpha

SuperFamily

Muroidea

Family

Cricetidae

Genus

Eolagurus

Loc

Eolagurus przewalskii

Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier & Thomas E. Lacher, Jr 2017
2017
Loc

Eremiomus przewahkii

Buchner 1889
1889
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