Gull Island vole
Appearance
Gull Island vole | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Rodentia |
Family: | Cricetidae |
Subfamily: | Arvicolinae |
Genus: | Microtus |
Species: | |
Subspecies: | †M. p. nesophilus
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Trinomial name | |
†Microtus pennsylvanicus nesophilus Bailey, 1898
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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
[edit]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
[edit]- ^ "NatureServe Explorer 2.0".
- ^ Heywood, N. C. "Gull Island Vole". Archived from the original on March 17, 2005.
External links
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