Daghestan pine vole
Microtus daghestanicus
Daud Arsanukaev
Key facts in one look
- Size
- Body 91–105 mm, 15–25 g
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Status in Georgia
- Native, high mountains
- Habitat
- Alpine meadows, 2,000–2,600 m
- Family
- Cricetidae
- Conservation
- LC / LC
The Daghestan pine vole (Microtus daghestanicus) is a vole of Caucasian alpine meadows: it usually lives above 2,000 m, up to 2,600 m. It spends more time underground than related voles in the same mountains and is mainly active at night. Its back is dark brown and its belly silvery. Its range covers the Caucasus, Georgia included, and it is regarded as a Caucasus endemic. It looks very like Major's pine vole, so to identify it, take a photo rather than catching it.
Identification
Daghestan pine vole: how to identify it
A small, short-tailed vole, dark brown above and silvery below. It is paler than Major's pine vole and has a narrower eye opening. The two species are hard to tell apart by sight.
The body is 91–105 mm long, the tail 33–42 mm, and it weighs 15–25 g. The tail is about 37% of the body length.
The back is dark brown and the belly silvery. Females have three pairs of nipples: one on the chest and two in the groin.
Major's pine vole is darker, has a wider eye opening and lives in forests and forest glades, mostly at 800–1,400 m. The Daghestan pine vole's eye opening is shorter than 2.2 mm, and its skull is flattened. These features do not show from a distance, so along with a photo, note the altitude and the place.
Colour
Swatches are illustrative. Do not identify a species by colour alone.
It is a vole of alpine meadows, usually above 2,000 m and up to 2,600 m. In the Caucasus it lives from Krasnodar Krai and Adygea to Dagestan, and also in Georgia, north-eastern Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan and the far north-west of Iran. Its whole range covers about 195,000 km².
The Daghestan pine vole map combines public iNaturalist observations. Regions are taken from the records-by-region table, and the status column separates regions with enough records from regions with too few records. Record counts reflect observation effort rather than population density. Records are still too few to mark any region.
Data: Reptiles.ge + iNaturalist · Methodology
- Field observation
- Photo record
- Region with records
It is a herbivore that feeds on plants. Its diet, like much of its way of life, is poorly studied.
It is mainly active at night. It lives more underground than related voles in the same mountains, Major's pine vole among them. A pregnant female weighs 18–24 g and carries 4–5 embryos.
Globally, the Daghestan pine vole is rated Least Concern (LC, 2016). In Georgia the 2021 national assessment also rates it Least Concern (LC), with a stable population. It is regarded as a Caucasus endemic. Nazarov's bushy vole, often treated as part of this species, was assessed separately and is listed as Data Deficient (DD).
Related guides
Continue with related pages
Yes. Georgia lies within its range, where it lives on Caucasian alpine meadows, usually at 2,000–2,600 m. It is regarded as a Caucasus endemic. It is mainly active at night and spends much of its time underground.
The Daghestan pine vole is paler, with a narrower eye opening, and lives on alpine meadows at 2,000–2,600 m. Major's pine vole is darker and lives in forests and forest glades, mostly at 800–1,400 m. The two were once treated as one species. For certain, they are told apart by skull features and chromosomes.
Its chromosome number ranges from 38 to 54 in different populations. So some forms, such as Nazarov's bushy vole, are sometimes treated as separate species and sometimes as part of this one. The species also contains several genetic lineages that may turn out to be separate species.
No, it does not attack. Still, wild rodents can pass on diseases through bites, scratches, urine, droppings and fleas. So do not touch a live or dead vole with bare hands.
It is not threatened. Globally it is rated Least Concern (LC, 2016), and in Georgia the 2021 national assessment also rates it Least Concern (LC), with a stable population. Even so, its way of life is poorly studied.
References
What this profile is based on
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
Prepared by the Reptiles.ge editorial team from the sources listed here.
