Microtus henseli

Microtus henseli; Temporal range: Middle Pleistocene-Holocene
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Cricetidae
Subfamily:	Arvicolinae
Genus:	Microtus
Species:	†M. henseli
Binomial name
	†Microtus henseli; ( F. Major, 1905)
Synonyms
	Tyrrhenicola henseli F. Major, 1905

Microtus (Tyrrhenicola) henseli is an extinct species of vole belonging to the genus Microtus that was endemic to Sardinia and Corsica during the Pleistocene and Holocene.

Taxonomy and evolution

It is placed in the subgenus Tyrrhenicola, alongside its probable ancestor, the early Middle Pleistocene species Microtus (Tyrrhenicola) sondaari, which probably descended from a population of Allophaiomys that arrived in Sardinia between 1.2 million and 0.8 million years ago. The arrival of Microtus (Tyrrhenicola) on Sardinia marks a faunal turnover event from the Early Pleistocene Nesogoral faunal complex and the Middle-Late Pleistocene Microtus (Tyrrhenicola) faunal complex.^[1] The oldest dates for M. henseli are over 500,000 years old.^[1] The youngest dates for the species are around 1300 BC. It may have become extinct as a result of introductions of invasive species to the islands by humans.^[2]

Description

Microtus (Tyrrhenicola) henseli had an estimated body mass of approximately 277 grams (0.611 lb), substantially larger than its mainland ancestors, an example of island gigantism.^[3]

Paleoenviroment

During the Middle-Late Pleistocene Corsica and Sardinia had their own highly endemic depauperate terrestrial mammal fauna which besides M. henseli included Tyrrhenian field rat, (Rhagamys orthodon), the Sardinian pika (Prolagus sardus), a shrew (Asoriculus similis), a mole (Talpa tyrrhenica), the Sardinian dhole (Cynotherium sardous), a galictine mustelid (Enhydrictis galictoides), a dwarf mammoth ([[Mammuthus lamarmorai) three species of otter (Algarolutra majori, Sardolutra ichnusae, Megalenhydris barbaricina) and a deer (Praemegaceros cazioti).^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Palombo, Maria Rita; Rozzi, Roberto (April 2014). "How correct is any chronological ordering of the Quaternary Sardinian mammalian assemblages?". Quaternary International. 328–329: 136–155. Bibcode:2014QuInt.328..136P. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2013.09.046.
^ Valenzuela, Alejandro; Torres-Roig, Enric; Zoboli, Daniel; Pillola, Gian Luigi; Alcover, Josep Antoni (March 2022). "Asynchronous ecological upheavals on the Western Mediterranean islands: New insights on the extinction of their autochthonous small mammals". The Holocene. 32 (3): 137–146. Bibcode:2022Holoc..32..137V. doi:10.1177/09596836211060491. ISSN 0959-6836. S2CID 244763779.
^ van den Hoek Ostende, Lars W.; van der Geer, Alexandra A.E.; Wijngaarden, Carlijne L. (July 2017). "Why are there no giants at the dwarves feet? Insular micromammals in the eastern Mediterranean". Quaternary International. 445: 269–278. Bibcode:2017QuInt.445..269V. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2016.05.007.

[:0-1] Palombo, Maria Rita; Rozzi, Roberto (April 2014). "How correct is any chronological ordering of the Quaternary Sardinian mammalian assemblages?". Quaternary International. 328–329: 136–155. Bibcode:2014QuInt.328..136P. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2013.09.046.

[2] Valenzuela, Alejandro; Torres-Roig, Enric; Zoboli, Daniel; Pillola, Gian Luigi; Alcover, Josep Antoni (March 2022). "Asynchronous ecological upheavals on the Western Mediterranean islands: New insights on the extinction of their autochthonous small mammals". The Holocene. 32 (3): 137–146. Bibcode:2022Holoc..32..137V. doi:10.1177/09596836211060491. ISSN 0959-6836. S2CID 244763779.

[3] van den Hoek Ostende, Lars W.; van der Geer, Alexandra A.E.; Wijngaarden, Carlijne L. (July 2017). "Why are there no giants at the dwarves feet? Insular micromammals in the eastern Mediterranean". Quaternary International. 445: 269–278. Bibcode:2017QuInt.445..269V. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2016.05.007.

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