513.

Hyrcanian Field Mouse

Apodemus hyrcanicus

French: Mulot d’'Hyrcanie / German: Talysh-Waldmaus / Spanish: Raton de campo de Hircania

Other common names: Caucasian Field Mouse, Caucasus Field Mouse, Talysh Field Mouse

Taxonomy. Apodemus hyrcanicus Vorontsov, Boyeskorov & Mezhzherin, 1992,

Hirkauski Reserve, 450 m, Caucasus, Azerbaidjan.

Apodemus hyrcanicus was initially distinguished by its genetic and morphological characters. Since then it has been attributed to the Sylvaemus group. M. Macholan and colleagues in 2001, using allozyme data, found it to be close to A. uralensis, and molecular phylogeny by J. Darvish and coworkers in 2015 placed it as a member of Sylvaemus clade in basal position to a subclade including A. pallipes, A. uralensis, A. sylvaticus, and A. flavicollis . In 2005, M.Javidkar and colleagues provided new records from Hyrcanian forests of Noor, in Mazandaran province, and performed a morphometric analysis of Iranian A. hyrcanicus . Monotypic.

Distribution. SE Azerbaijan and N Iran along coast of Caspian Sea;it possibly occurs also in SW Turkmenistan.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 95-105 mm, tail 94-107 mm, ear 15-19 mm, hindfoot 22-5-24 mm; weight 22-35 g. The Hyrcanian Field Mouse is one of the largest murid species in its range. Dorsal pelage is dark brown and ventral pelage pure white; a pectoral yellow spot may be present, but never a complete collar. Tail is equal to or slightly longer than head-body and is bicolored.

Habitat..ow-mountain broadleaf forests with oaks ( Quercus; Fagaceae), beech ( Fagus; Fagaceae), and hornbeam ( Carpinus; Betulaceae), at up to 2000 m.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Hyrcanian Field Mice are terrestrial.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Near Threatened on The IUCN Red List because this species is adapted to a single habitat (broadleaf forest), which is under threat.

Bibliography. Aulagnier et al. (2009), Darvish et al. (2015), Javidkar et al. (2005), Macholan, Filippucci, Benda et al. (2001), Musser & Carleton (2005).