The 'common vole' in Svalbard identified as Microtus epiroticus by chromosome analysis |
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| Authors: | KARL FREDGA MAARIT JAAROLA ROLF ANKER IMS HARALD STEEN NIGEL G YOCCOZ |
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| Institution: | Karl Fredga and Maarit Jaarola, Department of Genetics, Uppsala University, P.O. Box 7003. S-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden;Rolf Anker Ims and Harald Steen, Department of Biology, Division of Zoology, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1050 Blindern, N-0316 Oslo 3, Norway;Nigel G. Yoccoz, Department of Biology, Division of Zoology, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1050 Blindern, N-0316 Oslo 3, Norway, or: Laboratoire de Biometrie, Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 69622 Villeurbunne Cedex, France; |
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| Abstract: | The chromosomes were studied in six individuals from a population of Microtus from Grumantbyen, Svalbard, and in six Microtur arualis (Pallas 1778) from Lauwersee, Holland. It was shown that the voles from Svalbard did not belong, as earlier supposed, to the species M. arualis (2n = 46) but to M . epiroticus (Ondrias, 1966) (2n = 54). We suggest that the Svalbard voles were introduced by man between 1920 and 1960 together with hay on Russian ships from the vicinity of Leningrad, USSR. |
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