515.

Herb Field Mouse

Apodemus uralensis

French: Mulot pygmée / German: Zwergwaldmaus / Spanish: Ratén de campo de los Urales

Other common names: Pygmy Field Mouse, Ural Field Mouse

Taxonomy. Mus sylvaticus var. uralensis Pallas, 1811,

Southern Ural Mountains, Russia.

Apodemus uralensis was previously recognized as valid under the name A. microps, subsequently synonymized by various authors. Its validity was established on basis of various genetic and morphometric studies. H. Suzuki and colleagues in 2008 placed it close to A. wardi (= A. pallipes) and A. sylvaticus in the Sylvaemus clade,

whereas Liu Qi and colleagues in 2012 foundit to be sister taxon offlavicollis + alpicola but in same clade a A. sylvaticus in the Sylvaemus group. Finally, |. Darvish and coworkers in 2015 found A. uralensis to be sister taxon of A. pallipes, both belonging to a clade close to A. flavicollis in the Sylvaemus subgroup. For the Turkish material, B. Krystufek and V. Vohralik in 2009 showed its clear morpho-anatomical characters through a detailed study and some morphometric analysis. A full revision on a wide geographic scale 1s required in order to define species limits. Monotypic.

Distribution. From C & E Europe E through Russia, N Turkey (Anatolia), and the Caucasus to W China (Xinjiang).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 70-105 mm, tail 65-110 mm, ear 12-16 mm, hindfoot 17-22 mm; weight 13-28 g. One of the smallest Apodemus species, the Herb Field Mouse has dark brown dorsal pelage and a whitish-gray belly. Bicolored tail is of about same length (85-112%, average 100%) as head-body length. Occasionally (c.20% of specimens) a small and narrow yellow throat spot is present. Females bear three pairs of mammae. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 48, FNa = 46.

Habitat. Prefers forest edge and open habitats adjacent to woodland. In Europe, the Herb Field Mouse is found in a variety of habitats, including arable fields, dry grassland, and humid woodland. In Lithuania,it is an “ecotonic” species, occurring where forests adjoin open habitat (alpine meadows overgrown with shrubs, cornfields and fallow fields), and rarely found inside forests. In Turkey, it prefers deciduous forests of beech ( Fagus, Fagaceae), alder ( Alnus, Betulaceae), willow ( Salix, Salicaceae), walnut (fuglans, Juglandaceae), maple ( Acer, Sapindaceae), and oak ( Quercus, Fagaceae), coniferous forests with spruce ( Picea, Pinaceae) and fir ( Abies, Pinaceae), and mixed forests. In Anatolia and Caucasus it tends to occur alongside streams in woods with dense shrub layer. Found from sea level to at least 1400 m.

Food and Feeding. The dominant food of this species is seeds of plants and grasses, followed by fruits and a low proportion of insects. The Herb Field Mouse is a good climber and jumper. It forages in trees or in/on the ground.

Breeding. Littersize is 3-7 (average 5-2).

Activity patterns. Herb Field Mice are nocturnal, arboreal, and subterranean. Nests are either in trees or in burrows or natural subterranean shelters.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

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

Bibliography. Aulagnier et al. (2009), Darvish et al. (2015), Juskaitis (2003), Krystufek & Vohralik (2009), Liu Qi et al. (2012), Miljutin (1997), Smith & Yan Xie (2008), Storch (1999b), Suzuki et al. (2008).