East European vole

The East European vole (Microtus mystacinus) is a species of vole (rodent) in the family Cricetidae.^[2]

East European vole
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Cricetidae
Subfamily:	Arvicolinae
Genus:	Microtus
Subgenus:	Microtus
Species:	M. mystacinus
Binomial name
Microtus mystacinus (de Filippi, 1865)
Synonyms
Microtus rossiaemeridionalis Ognev, 1924 Microtus epiroticus Ondrias, 1966 Microtus levis Miller, 1908

Distribution and habitat

It is found in Albania, Bulgaria, Finland, Greece, Iran, Svalbard (accidentally introduced from 1920),^[3] North Macedonia, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Turkey, Ukraine and Norway.

Taxonomy

On Svalbard, they were first discovered in 1960 in the Grumantbyen area, and were thought to be the common vole until a genetic analysis correctly identified them in 1990.^[3][4]