Bog lemmings
Order : Rodentia
Suborder : Sciurognathi
Family : Muridae
Subfamily : Arvicolinae
Genus : Synaptomys
Animals in the genus Synaptomys |
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Southern bog lemming |
Facts about the genus Synaptomys, the bog lemmings
Southern Bog Lemmings are colonial and inhabit communities of thick matted ground cover with high overhead vegetation in both forest and grassland, but are not restricted to bogs.
Southern bog lemmings are found most commonly at the higher elevations, although they have been recorded as low as 1,400 feet at Greenbrier (Linzey, 1995a).
Stratigraphic unit: unknown Comments: "Duck Creek" locality yielding Cynomys and Synaptomys is said by Goodwin 1995a to be late Wisconsinan contra McMullen, but it is not clear which of these localities this includes; Goodwin 1995b repeats the "late Rancholabrean" assignment but gives no useful details
Synaptomys is almost completely nocturnal 86% of the field captures recorded occurred between sunset and sunrise *PA10176:4*, (1973) report that one can sometimes see circulr patches of grass, yellowed and dry where bog lemmings have nibbled at the stems from beneath the ground *PA11380:164*.
Synaptomys is also North American, and characterized by the grooved .
SYNAPTOMYS is shown to be most closely related to DICROSTONYX.
This suggests that occupancy of heath or lowland conifer habitats by bog lemmings is not merely random.
Synaptomys is rare anywhere in Michigan, and while Blarina is not rare, the fact that it lives in burrows would explain its comparative absence from the bill of fare. (Full text)
Synaptomys is also North American, and characterized by the groovedAfter Gould. (Full text)
Snowshoe hares, beavers, muskrats, and bog lemmings are some of the mammals that come to nibble on the wetland plants. (Full text)
Southern bog lemmings are small voles, weighing 20 to 50 grams and measuring 110 to 140 mm in total length. (Full text)
The two species of bog lemmings are so similar in appearance that they can only be separated by number of mammae and tooth structure (female S. (Full text)