California Vole – Microtus californicus

Microtus californicusPeale, 1848

Accepted name, Mammal Species of the World 2005

Broadly affiliated with other North American Microtus, but evidence for nearest specific relative contradictory (compare assessments of Anderson, 1959; Conroy and Cook, 2000a; Hooper and Hart, 1962; Moore and Janecek, 1990). Zagorodnyuk (1990) acknowledged enigmatic phyletic stature as sole member of californicus species group, subgenus Mynomes. Geographic races delineated by Kellogg (1918); Gill (1980) recorded instances of sterility in hybrids between M. c. californicus and M. c. stephensi.

• Wilson, D and Reeder, D. (eds.) 2005. Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. 3rd ed. -- 2142 pp. Johns Hopkins University Press.