Long-clawed mole vole
Prometheomys schaposchnikowi
Arvidas Merkelis · Kobuleti, Adjara Georgia field photo
Key facts in one look
- Diet
- Plants, roots, tubers
- Status in Georgia
- Native, Caucasian endemic
- Size
- Body 12.6–16.5 cm, 59.5–87.8 g
- Habitat
- Alpine and subalpine meadows, 1,500–2,800 m
- Family
- Cricetidae
- Conservation
- LC / VU
The long-clawed mole vole is the only species in its genus and keeps many primitive features. It lives only in the Caucasus and northeastern Turkey, and its type locality is Gudauri. It spends almost all its life underground: it digs tunnels with long front claws and leaves small mounds of earth on the surface. In Georgia it lives on high mountain meadows, from Kazbegi and Gudauri to Svaneti and Bakhmaro. If you see many fresh heaps of earth on a subalpine meadow, it may be one of its colonies, so do not dig up the burrows.
Identification
Long-clawed mole vole: how to identify it
A medium-sized, stout, burrowing vole with a short, thick tail and very small eyes. The most striking feature is the long, slender claws on the front feet. The fur is soft, silky and rusty brown, though black animals are common too.
The body is 12.6–16.5 cm long and the tail 3.6–5.8 cm, about a third of the body. It weighs 59.5–87.8 g, and males are slightly larger than females.
The front claws are 6.2–7.2 mm long, those of the hind feet shorter than 4 mm. The eyes are only 2.1 mm across. The tail is thick, wide at the base and tapers gradually to the tip.
The fur is up to 6 mm long, soft and rusty brown, with a grey belly tinged pinkish or yellowish. The feet are dark brown and the tail plain brown, often with a white tip. Young animals are greyer, and black adults are fairly common.
Colour
Swatches are illustrative. Do not identify a species by colour alone.
It is an animal of moist meadows in the alpine and subalpine belts, at 1,500–2,800 m, where snow lies for more than 200 days a year. It prefers light, moist soil: tall-grass meadows, short-grass pastures, forest glades and ploughland. It avoids steep slopes and rocky ground. In Georgia it has been found near Kazbegi and Kobi, at Gudauri and the Jvari Pass, on the Roki and Mamisoni passes, near Chaukhi, at Ushguli and the Zagari Pass, and at the sources of the Enguri and Rioni. In the south it reaches Bakhmaro, Beshumi and the Goderdzi and Zekari passes, and in the west Abkhazia, with Pskhu and Avadhara. It also occurs in Shida Kartli.
The long-clawed mole 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
- Several records in one spot
- Photo record
- Region with records
It eats only plants, both above and below ground. In summer it also feeds on the above-ground parts of plants, coming out of the burrow for 5–20 minutes at a time. It gathers roots, tubers and bulbs for the winter. A store can hold up to 3.5 kg, and it mixes the food with earth to keep it fresh.
It is active all year, by day and by night, though less at night in winter. It starts digging 0.5–1 hour after the soil warms up and is most active at midday, from 12:00 to 14:00. Small colonies dig large tunnel systems: 3–14 tunnels lead out from a central nest chamber. The chamber lies 0.5–1.2 m deep and is lined with dry grass, with food stores and latrines nearby. It pushes the excavated soil to the surface in small mounds, which in places cover 10% of the ground. In winter it also builds nests under the snow. A family is a breeding pair and its young, and several families live together as a colony on 200–500 m². Breeding runs from late May to early August. A female has two litters a year, each of 3–6 young. It may survive two winters. Repeated thawing and freezing of the snow in March and April raises its death rate.
On the Red List of Georgia it is Vulnerable (VU): it was listed in 2006 because of its small, fragmented range, the 2021 assessment again rates it Vulnerable, and the population is declining. Globally it has been rated Least Concern (LC) since 2017. The whole range covers about 5,000 km² and is split into three main parts. In places 150–200 animals live on a hectare, while in Georgia 3–32 per hectare have been recorded. Colonies are often small and far apart. The main threat is the degradation of high mountain meadows. At one colony watched in 1988–1995, the voles moved to steeper, less suitable ground after haymaking intensified. It is regarded as an indicator of the condition of subalpine meadows.
Arvidas Merkelis · roger_e_n_smith
Related guides
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On high alpine and subalpine meadows, at 1,500–2,800 m. It has been found near Kazbegi and Kobi, at Gudauri and the Jvari Pass, at Ushguli in Svaneti, at Bakhmaro and the Goderdzi Pass in the mountains of Adjara and Guria, and in Abkhazia. It spends almost all its life underground, so you will rarely see one alive.
It is built for life underground: it has long, slender claws on its front feet, and its eyes are only 2.1 mm across. It is heavier, 59.5–87.8 g, with soft rusty-brown fur, and is often black. Its colony gives itself away by many small heaps of earth on the meadow.
Only plants: roots, tubers and bulbs, and in summer also the above-ground parts. For winter it stores up to 3.5 kg of food mixed with earth to keep it. It comes to the surface to feed for only 5–20 minutes at a time.
Yes. On the Red List of Georgia it is Vulnerable (VU), and the 2021 assessment found its numbers declining. Globally it has been Least Concern (LC) since 2017. The main threat is the degradation of high mountain meadows, so do not dig up its burrows.
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.
