Dicrostonyx unalascensis Merriam 1900

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 : 973

Dicrostonyx unalascensis Merriam 1900

Dicrostonyx unalascensis Merriam 1900 , Proc. Wash. Acad. Sci., 2: 25.

Type Locality: USA, Alaska, Umnak Isl.

Vernacular Names: Unalaska Collared Lemming.

Synonyms: Dicrostonyx stevensoni Nelson 1929 .

Distribution: Umnak and Unalaska isls of Aleutian Archipelago, Alaska, USA.

Conservation: IUCN – Data Deficient.

Discussion: Conventionally viewed as a form of D. groenlandicus ( Hall, 1981; Hall and Cockrum, 1953; Jarrell and Fredga, 1993); retained as a species based on its distinctive pelage, craniodental form, and lack of specialized nival pelage and foreclaws, traits thought to be unique among Dicrostonyx ( Gilmore, 1933; Musser and Carleton, 1993; Nelson, 1929; Rausch and Rausch, 1972). The most cranially divergent among the North American forms that Eger (1995) included in her morphometric analyses.