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Lemmiscus curtatus

(Cope, 1868)

Sagebrush Vole

G5Secure Found in 2 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.101975
Element CodeAMAFF13010
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassMammalia
OrderRodentia
FamilyCricetidae
GenusLemmiscus
Synonyms
Lagurus curtatus(Cope, 1868)
Other Common Names
Campagnol des armoises (FR) sagebrush vole (EN)
Concept Reference
Wilson, D. E., and D. M. Reeder (editors). 1993. Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. Second edition. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. xviii + 1206 pp. Available online at: http://www.nmnh.si.edu/msw/.
Taxonomic Comments
Described originally as Arvicola curtata. Lemmiscus was proposed as a subgenus to differentiate this species from Old World Lagurus lagurus. Jones et al. (1992), Baker et al. (2003), and Musser and Carleton (in Wilson and Reeder 1993, 2005) regarded Lemmiscus as a distinct genus.
Conservation Status
Rank MethodExpertise without calculation
Review Date2016-04-04
Change Date1996-11-13
Range Extent Comments
Washington, central Idaho, southern Alberta, and southern Saskatchewan south to east-central California, southern Nevada, southern Utah, northern Colorado, and the western Dakotas.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Semi-arid prairies, rolling hills, brushy canyons, with loose, well-drained soil (may be rocky). Vegetation usually dominated by sagebrush and bunchgrasses, especially crested wheatgrass. Nests in underground burrow.

Ecology

Population density fluctuates widely (<1-20/ha in different areas at different seasons in Idaho (Mullican and 1986). In Idaho, apparently occurs singly or in pairs during warm season; may nest communally in winter (Mullican and Keller 1987).

Reproduction

Appears to breed year round, but possibly not in winter in north. Decline in breeding activity in summer. Up to three litters in a season. Gestation averages 25 days. Average litter size is 4-6.
Terrestrial Habitats
Shrubland/chaparralGrassland/herbaceous
Other Nations (2)
CanadaN4
ProvinceRankNative
SaskatchewanS4Yes
AlbertaS4Yes
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
NevadaS3Yes
North DakotaS4Yes
WyomingS4Yes
CaliforniaSNRYes
MontanaS4Yes
OregonS4Yes
South DakotaS1Yes
IdahoS4Yes
UtahS3Yes
WashingtonS3Yes
ColoradoS1Yes
Roadless Areas (2)
California (1)
AreaForestAcres
Birch CreekInyo National Forest28,816
Montana (1)
AreaForestAcres
Freezeout MountainBeaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest97,305
References (24)
  1. American Society of Mammalogists (ASM). 2024. The Mammal Diversity Database (MDD). Online. Available: www.mammaldiversity.org
  2. Baker, R. J., L. C. Bradley, R. D. Bradley, J. W. Dragoo, M. D. Engstrom, R. S. Hoffman, C. A. Jones, F. Reid, D. W. Rice, and C. Jones. 2003a. Revised checklist of North American mammals north of Mexico, 2003. Museum of Texas Tech University Occasional Papers 229:1-23.
  3. Banks, E. M., R. J. Brooks, and J. Schnell. 1975. A radiotracking study of home range and activity of the brown lemming (<i>Lemmus trimucronatus</i>). Journal of Mammalogy 56:888-901.
  4. Bowman, J. C., M. Edwards, L. S. Sheppard, and G. J. Forbes. 1999. Record distance for a non-homing movement by a deer mouse, <i>Peromyscus maniculatus</i>. Canadian Field-Naturalist 113:292-293.
  5. Brooks, R. J., and E. M. Banks. 1971. Radio-tracking study of lemming home range. Communications in Behavioral Biology 6:1-5.
  6. Carleton, M. D., and G. G. Musser. 1984. Muroid rodents. Pages 289-379 in Anderson, S., and J. K. Jones, Jr., eds. Orders and families of Recent mammals of the world. John Wiley & Sons, N.Y. xii + 686 pp.
  7. Carroll, L.E., and H.H. Genoways. 1980. <i>Lagurus curtatus</i>. Mammalian species, 124:1-6.
  8. Castleberry, S., B., T. L. King, P. B. Wood, and W. M. Ford. 2002. Microsatellite DNA analysis of population structure in Allegheny woodrats (<i>Neotoma magister</i>). Journal of Mammalogy 83:1058-1070.
  9. Douglass, R. J. 1977. Population dynamics, home ranges, and habitat associations of the yellow-cheeked vole, <i>Microtus xanthognathus</i>, in the Northwest Territories. Canadian Field-Naturalist 91:237-47.
  10. Garland, T., Jr. and W. G. Bradley. 1984. Effects of a highway on Mojave Desert rodent populations. American Midland Naturalist 111:47-56.
  11. Jike, L., G. O. Batzli, L. L. Geta. 1988. Home ranges of prairie voles as determined by radiotracking and by powdertracking. Journal of Mammalogy 69:183-186.
  12. Jones, J. K., Jr., R. S. Hoffman, D. W. Rice, C. Jones, R. J. Baker, and M. D. Engstrom. 1992a. Revised checklist of North American mammals north of Mexico, 1991. Occasional Papers, The Museum, Texas Tech University, 146:1-23.
  13. Krohne, D. T., and G. A. Hoch. 1999. Demography of <i>Peromyscus leucopus</i> populations on habitat patches: the role of dispersal. Canadian Journal of Zoology 77:1247-1253.
  14. MacMillen, R. E. 1964. Population ecology, water relations and social behavior of a southern California semidesert rodent fauna. University of California Publications in Zoology 71:1-59.
  15. Maier, T. J. 2002. Long-distance movements by female white-footed mice, <i>Peromyscus leucopus</i>, in extensive mixed-wood forest. Canadian Field-Naturalist 116:108-111.
  16. Mullican, T. R., and B. L. Keller. 1986. Ecology of the sagebrush vole (<i>Lemmiscus curtatus</i>) in southeastern Idaho. Can. J. Zool. 64:1218-1223.
  17. Mullican, T. R., and B. L. Keller. 1987. Burrows of the sagebrush vole (<i>Lemmiscus curtatus</i>) in southeastern Idaho. Great Basin Nat. 47:276-279.
  18. Oxley, D. J., M. B. Fenton and G. R. Carmody. 1974. The effects of roads on populations of small mammals. Journal of Applied Ecology 11: 51-59.
  19. Rehmeier, R. L., G. A. Kaufman, and D. W. Kaufman. 2004. Long-distance movements of the deer mouse in tallgrass prairie. Journal of Mammalogy 85:562-568.
  20. Smith, M. H. 1965. Dispersal capacity of the dusky-footed wood rat, <i>Neotoma fuscipes</i>. American Midland Naturalist 74:457-463.
  21. Storer, T. I., F. C. Evans, and F. G. Palmer. 1944. Some rodent populations in the Sierra Nevada of California. Ecological Monographs 14:166-192.
  22. Wilkins, K. T. 1982. Highways as barriers to rodent dispersal. Southwestern Naturalist 27: 459-460.
  23. Wilson, D. E., and D. M. Reeder (editors). 1993. Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. Second edition. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. xviii + 1206 pp. Available online at: http://www.nmnh.si.edu/msw/.
  24. Wilson, D. E., and D. M. Reeder (editors). 2005. Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. Third edition. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. Two volumes. 2,142 pp. [As modified by ASM the Mammal Diversity Database (MDD) at https://www.mammaldiversity.org/index.html]