Microtus (Terricola) schelkovnikovi Satunin 1907

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 : 1015

Microtus (Terricola) schelkovnikovi Satunin 1907

Microtus (Terricola) schelkovnikovi Satunin 1907 , Izv. Kavkas. Mus ., 3 (1): 242.

Type Locality: SE Azerbaijan, Talysk Mtns, near village of Dzhi.

Vernacular Names: Schelkovnikov's Pine Vole.

Synonyms: Microtus (Terricola) dorothea ( Ellerman 1948) .

Distribution: S Azerbaijan (Talysk Mtns) and NW Iran (Elburz Mtns), in mountains bounding southern margin of Caspian Sea.

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Subgenus Terricola , sole member of schelkovnikovi species group ( Zagorodnyuk, 1990), or the majori species group with connate M. majori ( Pavlinov et al., 1995 a; Pavlinov and Rossolimo, 1998). Although lumped under Pitymys subterraneus by Ellerman Morrison-Scott (1951), its specific validity is well documented (Kratochvíl, 1970; Kratochvíl and Kral, 1974). Chromosomal data summarized by Zima and Kral (1984 a). Karyotypic contrasts between Caucasus M. schelkovnikovi (2n = 54, FN = 62), M. majori (2n = 54, FN = 60), and M. daghestanicus (2n = 38-54, FN = 58) and inferences on pine vole chromosomal evolution (subgenus Terricola ) in the Caucasus offered by Achverdjan et al. (1992); see account of M. daghestanicus . The name kaznakovi was thought to be potentially valid for this species (see reference in Corbet, 1984), but Pavlinov and Rossolimo (1987) avoided its use, and Rossolimo and Pavlinov (1992) and Rossolimo et al. (1994) placed it in the synonymy of Alticola stoliczkanus .