Gull Island vole
Extinct subspecies of rodent
Gull Island vole | |
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Conservation status | |
Presumed Extinct (1897) (NatureServe)[1] | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Rodentia |
Family: | Cricetidae |
Subfamily: | Arvicolinae |
Genus: | Microtus |
Species: | M. pennsylvanicus |
Subspecies: | †M. p. nesophilus |
Trinomial name | |
†Microtus pennsylvanicus nesophilus Bailey, 1898 |
The Gull Island vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus nesophilus) is an extinct subspecies of the meadow vole that was endemic to Great Gull and Little Gull Islands in New York.
Extinction
A ground-dwelling coastal beach grass herbivore, it presumably disappeared after habitat destruction of sand dunes for naval fortifications in August 1898 for the Spanish–American War, only 9 or 10 years after its discovery in 1888. It was last seen in 1897.[2] Predation by feral cats was also partly responsible in its decline. It is known from fifteen specimens in Washington, D.C.
References
External links
- Extinction: Gull Island Vole UWSP GEOG358 (Heywood)
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