Close species of rodent superfamily Muroidei in the fauna of Ukraine: taxonomy, biogeography, diagnostics, and ecomorphology

The results of the revision of the species composition and related knowledge of taxonomy, biogeography, diagnostics, variability and ecomorphology of polytypic groups of murine rodents, superfamily Muroidei, are presented. These are 5 former "large" species: "wood mice", "co...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Igor Zagorodniuk
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. National Museum of Natural History 2020-07-01
Series:Theriologia Ukrainica
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.terioshkola.org.ua/library/pts19-dama/TU1903-zagorodniuk.htm
_version_ 1811182713120489472
author Igor Zagorodniuk
author_facet Igor Zagorodniuk
author_sort Igor Zagorodniuk
collection DOAJ
description The results of the revision of the species composition and related knowledge of taxonomy, biogeography, diagnostics, variability and ecomorphology of polytypic groups of murine rodents, superfamily Muroidei, are presented. These are 5 former "large" species: "wood mice", "common mice", water voles, "shrub voles" and "common voles". Each of these groups is represented in the fauna of Ukraine and neighboring countries by 2–3 species. The two most difficult for revision and for background monitoring of fauna are "forest mice" and "common voles", each of which is represented in the fauna of the region by three morphologically very similar species of different kinship, among which one (the most genetically distant) is widely sympatric to the other two species that are allospecies. Among "forest mice", such species are Sylvaemus uralensis (= microps) against the pair S. sylvaticus + S. witherbyi (= S. falzfeini), and among the "common voles" it is Microtus levis (= rossiaemeridionalis) against the pair M. arvalis + M. obscurus. The other three pairs of species are generally more diverged (at least in terms of habitats and ecology, and in some cases morphology) and clearly less sympatric species. In the group of "common" mice, Mus "musculus" (s.l.), there is a pair of synanthropic and exanthropic forms — M. musculus and M. spicilegus (= M. sergii), which usually do not interact in nature, and therefore poorly diverged in morphology. In the group of "water voles" there is an allopatric pair, represented by the Carpathian-Roztochchian (essentially mountainous, associated with meadows) as well as plain hydrophilic forms, Arvicola scherman and A. amphibius (= A. terrestris). In the group of "shrub voles" there is a sympatric pair of species, one of them has limited distribution in the Carpathians (Terricola tatricus), but the other (T. subterraneus), being sympatric to the first in the Carpathians, also forms numbered populations in lowland forests, as in the forest zone as in the bairak steppe zone.Morphological differentiation between them is generally high, but the Eastern Carpathian form of Terricola tatricus is the smallest in a row of mountain forms of Terricola (multiplex, tatricus, zykovi), which was the reason for its long-term non-recognition in the fauna of Ukraine. For all species, descriptions are presented, including 5 standard parts for this series of publications: general remarks, taxonomy (including nomenclature), distribution (including biotopes), diagnostics (including variability), ecomorphology.
first_indexed 2024-04-11T09:35:24Z
format Article
id doaj.art-3ac8b454b2dc446bb688bbcae7b12cd4
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2616-7379
2617-1120
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-11T09:35:24Z
publishDate 2020-07-01
publisher National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. National Museum of Natural History
record_format Article
series Theriologia Ukrainica
spelling doaj.art-3ac8b454b2dc446bb688bbcae7b12cd42022-12-22T04:31:42ZengNational Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. National Museum of Natural HistoryTheriologia Ukrainica2616-73792617-11202020-07-011932610.15407/TU1903Close species of rodent superfamily Muroidei in the fauna of Ukraine: taxonomy, biogeography, diagnostics, and ecomorphologyIgor Zagorodniuk0National Museum of Natural History, NAS of Ukraine (Kyiv, Ukraine)The results of the revision of the species composition and related knowledge of taxonomy, biogeography, diagnostics, variability and ecomorphology of polytypic groups of murine rodents, superfamily Muroidei, are presented. These are 5 former "large" species: "wood mice", "common mice", water voles, "shrub voles" and "common voles". Each of these groups is represented in the fauna of Ukraine and neighboring countries by 2–3 species. The two most difficult for revision and for background monitoring of fauna are "forest mice" and "common voles", each of which is represented in the fauna of the region by three morphologically very similar species of different kinship, among which one (the most genetically distant) is widely sympatric to the other two species that are allospecies. Among "forest mice", such species are Sylvaemus uralensis (= microps) against the pair S. sylvaticus + S. witherbyi (= S. falzfeini), and among the "common voles" it is Microtus levis (= rossiaemeridionalis) against the pair M. arvalis + M. obscurus. The other three pairs of species are generally more diverged (at least in terms of habitats and ecology, and in some cases morphology) and clearly less sympatric species. In the group of "common" mice, Mus "musculus" (s.l.), there is a pair of synanthropic and exanthropic forms — M. musculus and M. spicilegus (= M. sergii), which usually do not interact in nature, and therefore poorly diverged in morphology. In the group of "water voles" there is an allopatric pair, represented by the Carpathian-Roztochchian (essentially mountainous, associated with meadows) as well as plain hydrophilic forms, Arvicola scherman and A. amphibius (= A. terrestris). In the group of "shrub voles" there is a sympatric pair of species, one of them has limited distribution in the Carpathians (Terricola tatricus), but the other (T. subterraneus), being sympatric to the first in the Carpathians, also forms numbered populations in lowland forests, as in the forest zone as in the bairak steppe zone.Morphological differentiation between them is generally high, but the Eastern Carpathian form of Terricola tatricus is the smallest in a row of mountain forms of Terricola (multiplex, tatricus, zykovi), which was the reason for its long-term non-recognition in the fauna of Ukraine. For all species, descriptions are presented, including 5 standard parts for this series of publications: general remarks, taxonomy (including nomenclature), distribution (including biotopes), diagnostics (including variability), ecomorphology.http://www.terioshkola.org.ua/library/pts19-dama/TU1903-zagorodniuk.htmrodentsmuroideitaxonomydistributiondifferencesecomorphology
spellingShingle Igor Zagorodniuk
Close species of rodent superfamily Muroidei in the fauna of Ukraine: taxonomy, biogeography, diagnostics, and ecomorphology
Theriologia Ukrainica
rodents
muroidei
taxonomy
distribution
differences
ecomorphology
title Close species of rodent superfamily Muroidei in the fauna of Ukraine: taxonomy, biogeography, diagnostics, and ecomorphology
title_full Close species of rodent superfamily Muroidei in the fauna of Ukraine: taxonomy, biogeography, diagnostics, and ecomorphology
title_fullStr Close species of rodent superfamily Muroidei in the fauna of Ukraine: taxonomy, biogeography, diagnostics, and ecomorphology
title_full_unstemmed Close species of rodent superfamily Muroidei in the fauna of Ukraine: taxonomy, biogeography, diagnostics, and ecomorphology
title_short Close species of rodent superfamily Muroidei in the fauna of Ukraine: taxonomy, biogeography, diagnostics, and ecomorphology
title_sort close species of rodent superfamily muroidei in the fauna of ukraine taxonomy biogeography diagnostics and ecomorphology
topic rodents
muroidei
taxonomy
distribution
differences
ecomorphology
url http://www.terioshkola.org.ua/library/pts19-dama/TU1903-zagorodniuk.htm
work_keys_str_mv AT igorzagorodniuk closespeciesofrodentsuperfamilymuroideiinthefaunaofukrainetaxonomybiogeographydiagnosticsandecomorphology