509.

Alpine Field Mouse

Apodemus alpicola

French: Mulot alpestre / German: Alpenwaldmaus / Spanish: Raton de campo de los Alpes

Taxonomy. Apodemus alpicola Heinrich, 1952,

Allgau, Osterachtal, Germany .

Initially considered a subspecies of A. flavicollis, A. alpicolawas accorded full species status after a first morphological study by G. Storch and O. Litt in 1989, and subsequent molecular confirmation by various authors. In the latest phylogeny of genus, A. alpicola belongs to the Sylvaemus clade along with A. sylvaticus, A. uralensis, and A. flavicollis; these taxa were attributed to

subgenus Sylvaemus by G. G.Musser and colleagues in 1996. Monotypic.

Distribution. Alps of SE France, Switzerland, S Germany, Liechtenstein, Austria, and N Italy.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 78-114 mm,tail 100-134 mm, ear 15-22 mm, hindfoot 22-26 mm; weight 28-43 g. Sexual dimorphism tested, with male larger than female. The Alpine Field Mouse is very similar to the Yellow-necked Field Mouse ( A. flavicollis), but with less marked pectoral collar, a grayish belly, and longer tail (more than 120% of head-body length). Dorsal pelage is brown. When the Alpine Field Mouse occurs sympatrically with Long-tailed Field Mouse ( A. sylvaticus) and Yellow-necked Field Mouse, only skull morphometrics or molecular studies allow correct identification. Karyotype 2n = 48.

Habitat. Alpine Field Mouse lives in coniferous forests in mountains at 500-2400 m, where it prefers wet rocky areas or riverine banks with plenty of short vegetation. An ecological modeling study for Switzerland showed that it prefers open, less dense forest (with cover of 20-60%); bushy forests with Alnus viridis (Betulaceae), Pinus mugo ( Pinaceae), and Corylus avellana ( Betulaceae), exclusively in alpine areas; rivers, and mown alpine meadows (used for dry foraging). It tends to avoid shore vegetation (lakeside and river reed vegetation).

Food and Feeding. Alpine Field Mice are omnivorous. Insects dominate diet in spring, while fruits and seeds feature strongly in summer and autumn.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Alpine Field Mice are terrestrial, and probably nocturnal and fossorial.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

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

Bibliography. Aulagnier et al. (2009), Liu Qi etal. (2012), Musseret al. (1996), Quéré & Le Louarn (2011), Reutter et al. (2005), Storch & Litt (1989).