Gull Island vole
| Gull Island vole | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Cricetidae |
| Subfamily: | Arvicolinae |
| Genus: | Microtus |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: | †M. p. nesophilus |
| Trinomial name | |
| †Microtus pennsylvanicus nesophilus Bailey, 1898 | |
The Gull Island vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus nesophilus) is an extinct subspecies of the meadow vole that was endemic to Great Gull and Little Gull Islands in New York.
Extinction
A ground-dwelling coastal beach grass herbivore, it presumably disappeared after habitat destruction of sand dunes for naval fortifications in August 1898 for the Spanish–American War, only 9 or 10 years after its discovery in 1888. It was last seen in 1897.[2] Predation by feral cats was also partly responsible in its decline. It is known from fifteen specimens in Washington, D.C.
References
- ^ "NatureServe Explorer 2.0".
- ^ Heywood, N. C. "Gull Island Vole". Archived from the original on March 17, 2005.
External links