''Microtus (Tyrrhenicola) henseli'' is an extinct species of

vole Voles are small rodents that are relatives of lemmings and hamsters, but with a stouter body; a longer, hairy tail; a slightly rounder head; smaller eyes and ears; and differently formed molars (high-crowned with angular cusps instead of lo ...

belonging to the genus ''

Microtus ''Microtus'' is a genus of voles found in North America, Europe and northern Asia. The genus name refers to the small ears of these animals. They are stout rodents with short ears, legs and tails. They eat green vegetation such as grasses and se ...

'' that was

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

and

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

during the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

and

Holocene The Holocene () is the current geologic time scale, geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene to ...

Taxonomy and evolution

It is placed in the subgenus ''Tyrrhenicola,'' alongside its probable ancestor, the early Middle Pleistocene species ''Microtus (Tyrrhenicola) sondaari,'' which probably descended from a population of '' Allophaiomys'' that arrived in Sardinia between 1.2 million and 0.8 million years ago. The arrival of ''Microtus (Tyrrhenicola)'' on Sardinia marks a faunal turnover event from the Early Pleistocene '' Nesogoral'' faunal complex and the Middle-Late Pleistocene ''Microtus (Tyrrhenicola)'' faunal complex. The oldest dates for ''M. henseli'' are over 500,000 years old. The youngest dates for the species on Sardinia around 1300 BC, while in Corsica the species is suggested to have become extinct between 393 BC and the 6th century AD. It may have become extinct as a result of introductions of

invasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...

to the islands by humans.

Description

''Microtus (Tyrrhenicola) henseli'' had an estimated body mass of approximately , substantially larger than its mainland ancestors, an example of

island gigantism Island gigantism, or insular gigantism, is a biological phenomenon in which the size of an animal species isolated on an island increases dramatically in comparison to its mainland relatives. Island gigantism is one aspect of the more general "is ...

Paleoenviroment

During the Middle-Late Pleistocene Corsica and Sardinia had their own highly

depauperate terrestrial mammal fauna which besides ''M. henseli'' included Tyrrhenian field rat, ('' Rhagamys orthodon''), the Sardinian pika (''

Prolagus sardus The Sardinian pika (''Prolagus sardus'') is an extinct species of lagomorph that was endemic to the islands of Sardinia, Corsica and neighbouring Mediterranean islands until its extinction likely in Roman times. It was the last surviving member o ...

''), a shrew ('' Asoriculus similis''), a

mole Mole (or Molé) may refer to: Animals * Mole (animal) or "true mole" * Golden mole, southern African mammals * Marsupial mole Marsupial moles, the Notoryctidae family, are two species of highly specialized marsupial mammals that are found i ...

('' Talpa tyrrhenica''), the

Sardinian dhole The Sardinian dhole (genus ''Cynotherium'' especially ''C. sardous'') is an extinct insular canid which was endemic to what is now the Mediterranean islands of Sardinia and Corsica during the Middle-Late Pleistocene. It went extinct at the end of ...

(''Cynotherium sardous''), a galictine

mustelid The Mustelidae (; from Latin , weasel) are a diverse family of carnivoran mammals, including weasels, badgers, otters, polecats, martens, grisons, and wolverines. Otherwise known as mustelids (), they form the largest family in the suborde ...

('' Enhydrictis galictoides''), a dwarf mammoth ('' Mammuthus lamarmorai'') three species of otter (''Algarolutra majori">otter.html" ;"title="Mammuthus lamarmorai'') three species of Mammuthus lamarmorai'') three species of otter (''Algarolutra majori, Sardolutra">Sardolutra ichnusae, Megalenhydris barbaricina">otter">Mammuthus lamarmorai'') three species of otter (''Algarolutra majori, Sardolutra">Sardolutra ichnusae, Megalenhydris barbaricina'') and a deer (''Praemegaceros, Praemegaceros cazioti'').

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q30592235 Microtus, henseli Holocene extinctions Fossil taxa described in 1905