The Szechuan vole (''Volemys millicens'') is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal specie ...

in the family

Cricetidae The Cricetidae are a family of rodents in the large and complex superfamily Muroidea. It includes true hamsters, voles, lemmings, muskrats, and New World rats and mice. At over 870 species, it is either the largest or second-largest family ...

. It is found only in northwestern

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. It is one of two species in the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Volemys ''Volemys'' is a small genus of rodents in the family Cricetidae. It contains the following species, both of which are endemic to China: * Szechuan vole (''Volemys millicens'') * Marie's vole Marie's vole (''Volemys musseri'') is a species of ...

'' along with

Marie's vole Marie's vole (''Volemys musseri'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found only in China. ''Volemys musseri'' is one of two species in the genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (t ...

(''Volemys musseri'').

Range

In northwestern

, China, ''Volemys millicens'' is found in the

Wolong National Nature Reserve Wolong National Nature Reserve (from Chinese ), officially known as Wolong Special Administrative Region, is a national protected area located in Wenchuan County in China. Established in 1963 with an initial size of about , the reserve was fur ...

, and likely also occurs in Wenchuan Caopo, Heishuihe, Fengtongzhai, Anzihe, and Longhixihongkou Nature Reserves.

References

*Musser, G. G. and M. D. Carleton. 2005. Superfamily Muroidea. pp. 894–1531 ''in'' Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder eds. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. Volemys Mammals described in 1911 Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas Rodents of China Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Endemic fauna of Sichuan {{Arvicolinae-stub