Neodon sikimensis Horsfield 1841

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 : 1032

Neodon sikimensis Horsfield 1841

Neodon sikimensis Horsfield 1841 , A Catalogue of the Mammalia in the Museum of the Hon. East-India Company: 145-146 (as corrected by Kaneko and Smeenk, 1996; not Hodgson, 1849, as entrenched in the literature).

Type Locality: India, Sikkim.

Vernacular Names: Sikkim Mountain Vole.

Synonyms: Neodon thricolis (Gray 1863) .

Distribution: Himalayas from W to E Nepal (based on FMNH series), through NE India (Sikkim and Darjeeling Dist.) to E Bhutan ( Ellerman, 1947 a, 1961); also SC and E Xizang (Tibet; Feng et al., 1986; Zhang et al., 1997).

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc) as Microtus sikimensis .

Discussion: Geographic distribution of N. sikimensis on the E Tibetan Plateau is parapatric with the smaller-bodied and morphologically different N. irene (see account), once included in N. sikimensis . Banded karyotype (2n = 48, FN = 56) described by Mekada et al. (2002), who postulated its derivation from that characterizing N. juldaschi (as Microtus carruthersi ). Indian population reviewed by Agrawal (2000); aspects of habitat, individual and age variation reported by Abe (1971) and Gruber (1969).