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Eolagurus luteus (yellow steppe lemming Eolagurus luteus Eversmann, 1840) is a keystone species in the desert steppe of northern Xinjiang, one of the regions most affected by global climate change. Their behavior of eating grassland vegetation and digging holes has resulted in the reduction of grassland vegetation and soil erosion in northern Xinjiang, which has seriously affected the ecological balance of the grassland in northern Xinjiang, and pathogens carried by E. luteus pose a great threat to human health. Climate change exacerbates the uncertainty of the outbreak of E. luteus. Predicting the suitable habitat area of this species under climate change scenarios will help farmers and herders deal with the potential threat of an E. luteus outbreak. In this study, 117 actual occurrence points of E. luteus were used, and 24 climate models, 6 soil factors and 3 topographic factors from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6) were taken into account. Combining the MaxEnt model and the overlay analysis function of ArcGIS software, the potential geographic distribution of E. luteus in 2030 and 2050 for the green development path (SSP126), the intermediate development path (SSP245), the regional competition path (SSP370), and the high development path (SSP585) was predicted. The change trend of the suitable area and distribution pattern of E. luteus in Xinjiang under future climate conditions was analyzed, and the main environmental factors affecting the distribution of E. luteus are discussed. The results show that the average area under curve (AUC) and true skill statistics (TSS) of the MaxEnt model are 0.993 and 0.8816, respectively, indicating that the model has a good prediction effect. The analysis of environmental factors showed that the main environmental factors affecting the potential geographical distribution of E. luteus are average annual temperature, isotherm, average temperature in the wettest quarter, average temperature in the driest quarter, and precipitation variation coefficient. With the increase of radiation intensity and time, the suitable areas of E. luteus will continue to decrease. Especially in the 2050s under the SSP585 scenario, the middle and high suitable areas will decrease by 2.58 × 104 km2 and 1.52 × 104 km2, respectively. Although the potential habitat area of E. luteus is shrinking, the future threat of E. luteus to grassland ecological security and human health should not be underestimated due to ecological adaptation of the community and the frequent occurrence of extreme weather. Therefore, studying changes in the potential geographic distribution of E. luteus under climate change scenarios and developing appropriate monitoring programs are of great importance for grassland ecological security and human health. This study fills in the gaps in the study of the potential geographical distribution of E. luteus and provides methodological and literature support for the study of the potential geographical distribution of other rodents.

Background Rodents are thought to be produced their human-audible calls (AUDs, below 20 kHz) with phonation mechanism based on vibration of the vocal folds, whereas their ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs, over 20 kHz) are produced with aerodynamic whistle mechanism. Despite of different production mechanisms, the acoustic parameters (duration and fundamental frequency) of AUDs and USVs change in the same direction along ontogeny in collared lemming Dicrostonyx groenlandicus and fat-tailed gerbil Pachyuromys duprasi. We hypothesize that this unidirectional trend of AUDs and USVs is a common rule in rodents and test whether the AUDs of yellow steppe lemmings Eolagurus luteus would display the same ontogenetic trajectory (towards shorter and low-frequency calls) as their USVs, studied previously in the same laboratory colony. Results We examined for acoustic variables 1200 audible squeaks emitted during 480-s isolation-and-handling procedure by 120 individual yellow steppe lemmings (at 12 age classes from neonates to breeding adults, 10 individuals per age class, up to 10 calls per individual, each individual tested once). We found that the ontogenetic pathway of the audible squeaks, towards shorter and lower frequency calls, was the same as the pathway of USVs revealed during 120-s isolation procedure in a previous study in the same laboratory population. Developmental milestone for the appearance of mature patterns of the squeaks (coinciding with eyes opening at 9–12 days of age), was the same as previously documented for USVs. Similar with ontogeny of USVs, the chevron-like squeaks were prevalent in neonates whereas the squeaks with upward contour were prevalent after the eyes opening. Conclusion This study confirms a hypothesis of common ontogenetic trajectory of call duration and fundamental frequency for AUDs and USVs within species in rodents. This ontogenetic trajectory is not uniform across species.

Potential of ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) to reflect a degree of discomfort of a caller is mostly investigated in laboratory rats and mice but poorly known in other rodents. We examined 36 (19 male, 17 female) adult yellow steppe lemmings Eolagurus luteus for presence of USVs during 8-min experimental trials including 2-min test stages of increasing discomfort: isolation, touch, handling and body measure. We found that 33 of 36 individuals vocalized at isolation stage, i.e., without any human impact. For 14 (6 male and 8 female) individuals, a repeated measures approach revealed that increasing discomfort from isolation to handling stages resulted in increase of call power quartiles and fundamental frequency, whereas call rate remained unchanged. We discuss that, in adult yellow steppe lemmings, the discomfort-related changes of USV fundamental frequency and power variables follow the same common rule as the audible calls of most mammals, whereas call rate shows a different trend. These data contribute to research focused on searching the universal acoustic cues to discomfort in mammalian USVs.

Acoustic individuality is present in diverse taxa of mammals and birds, becoming especially prominent in those age groups for which discriminating conspecifics by voice is critically important. This study compares, for the first time, the ontogenetic changes of acoustic individuality of ultrasonic and audible calls (USVs and AUDs) across 12 age-classes (from neonates to adults) in captive yellow steppe lemmings Eolagurus luteus. We found that, in this rodent species, the isolation-induced USVs and AUDs are not individually distinct at any age. We discuss that this result is unusual, because discriminating individuals by individualistic vocal traits may be important for such a social species as yellow steppe lemming. We also discuss the potential role of acoustic individuality in studies including rodent models.

The vocal repertoire of steppe (Lagurus lagurus Pallas, 1773) and yellow steppe (Eolagurus luteus Eversmann, 1840) lemmings consists of only one type of signal, namely, a squeak. The signal does, however, have considerable variability. The DFA standard procedure shows the significant differences in the parameters of squeaks between species and significant differences in squeak parameters between the sexes in steppe lemming but not in the yellow steppe lemming. The fundamental frequency of the smaller steppe lemming’s squeak is higher than that of the larger yellow steppe lemming, although the peak frequencies have comparable values. In addition, the steppe lemming displays a pronounced sexual dimorphism in vocalization parameters; the frequency characteristics of the signals of the smaller females have lower values, which are contrary to scaling laws, stating that smaller individuals tend to have higher fundamental and peak frequencies. The age-related variability in the signals of yellow steppe l...

The paper deals with new fossil material, about 9400 cheek teeth, from 24 elementary samples received from loose deposits of 2 karst cavities – Chernorechka and Chernorechka-2, and 2 rock shelters – Verbluzhka-1 and Verbluzhka-2 located in the Ural–Sakmara interfluve (at about 51°N). One small lagomorph taxon (Lagomorpha) and 30 rodent taxons (Rodentia) were determined from which 4 taxon doesn't inhabit investigated territory nowadays: Eolagurus luteus , Pygeretmus pumilio and Pygeretmus sp., for Eliomys quercinus marked the most southern-east point in the area history. Nine stages of the community's development were marked out. The domination of Lagurus lagurus , Eolagurus luteus and Microtus gregalis from the most ancient community concerned it to typical Late Pleistocene steppe type of communities described from the adjacent South Trans-Urals territories. The Holocene time interval is marked by the domination of Ellobius talpinus and Microtus ex gr. arvalis as well as yellow steppe lemming in the community core (four stages). Then in the core composition appeared Sicista sp. and Cricetus cricetus (four stages) and small mammal communities obtained the mesophilous look. The increasing of xerophilous elements in the last centuries and dozen years reflected regional peculiarities of modern steppe conditions in the south extremity of the Ural mountains.

Ultrasonic vocalizations (USV) of laboratory rodents may serve as age-dependent indicators of emotional arousal and anxiety. Fast-growing Arvicolinae rodent species might be advantageous wild-type animal models for behavioural and medical research related to USV ontogeny. For the yellow steppe lemming Eolagurus luteus, only audible calls of adults were previously described. This study provides categorization and spectrographic analyses of 1176 USV calls emitted by 120 individual yellow steppe lemmings at 12 age classes, from birth to breeding adults over 90 days (d) of age, 10 individuals per age class, up to 10 USV calls per individual. The USV calls emerged since 1st day of pup life and occurred at all 12 age classes and in both sexes. The unified 2-min isolation procedure on an unfamiliar territory was equally applicable for inducing USV calls at all age classes. Rapid physical growth (1 g body weight gain per day from birth to 40 d of age) and the early (9-12 d) eyes opening correlated with the early (9-12 d) emergence of mature vocal patterns of USV calls. The mature vocal patterns included a prominent shift in percentages of chevron and upward contours of fundamental frequency (f0) and the changes in the acoustic variables of USV calls. Call duration was the longest at 1-4 d, significantly shorter at 9-12 d and did not between 9-12-d and older age classes. The maximum fundamental frequency (f0max) decreased with increase of age class, from about 50 kHz in neonates to about 40 kHz in adults. These ontogenetic pathways of USV duration and f0max (towards shorter and lower-frequency USV calls) were reminiscent of those in laboratory mice Mus musculus.

83. Yellow Steppe Lemming Eolagurus luteus French: Campagnol jaune / German: Gelblemming / Spanish: Lemming de estepa dorado Taxonomy. Georychus luteus Eversmann, 1840, NW of Aral Sea, Kyzylorda Region, Kazakhstan. Some authors have considered luteus to be a member of genus Lagurus. Monotypic. Distribution. Extreme E Kazakhstan (E Zaysan Depression), China (Dzungarian Basin in N Xinjiang), and SW Mongolia (Dzungarian Gobi). Descriptive notes. Head-body 130-162 mm, tail 14-23 mm, ear 4-7 mm, hindfoot 17-22 mm; weight 60-140 g. Fur color of head and upperparts is light grayish sandy-yellow; underparts are light pale or yellowish clay; tail is uniformly light, whitish. There are four plantar pads. Claw offirst pollex is small, with pointed end. Auditory bullae are large and inflated but not projected backward from level of condylus occipitalis. M? has two inner and three outer angles. M, has seven partially isolated dentine areas on its masticatory surface; its anterior loop lacks additional angles and is isolated from antero-lingual triangle. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 56 and FN = 58. Habitat. Semi-desert and desert at elevations up to 2100 m. The Yellow Steppe Lemming occupies areas with clay or sandy soils and sparse shrubs (Artemisia, Asteraceae, and Krascheninnikovia, Amaranthaceae) and grasses, preferring depressions ofrelief. Food and Feeding. Diets of Yellow Steppe Lemmings contain green plant parts and seeds in autumn but in relatively small amounts. They do not store winter food. Breeding. Reproductive period of the Yellow Steppe Lemming occur in April-September. Litters have 2-11 young (average 4-6-8-5). Adult females can produce 2 litters/ year. Females become sexually mature at ¢.20-25 days and can produce one litter in the year of their birth. Activity patterns. Yellow Steppe Lemmings are active round-the-clock. In spring and autumn, activity is mainly diurnal, but in summer, it is nocturnal and crepuscular. Movements, Home range and Social organization. In spring, summer, and autumn, Yellow Steppe Lemmings live in monogamous family groups. At the beginning of breeding season, the family group usually consists of a male and a female and later includes immature yearlings from 1-2 generations. Yearlings reach sexual maturity after they disperse from parents’ burrow. Each family group occupies one burrow. Contacts between individuals, especially from different family groups, are usually aggressive. Burrow has a nest chamber, 18-20 cm in diameter and 40-80 cm deep, and a complex system of tunnels at depths of 20-25 cm; burrow covers surface area of 200-400 m?; there are 50-60 entrances that are 0-5-3 m (usually 1-5-2 m) from one another. In winter, Yellow Steppe Lemmings live individually under snow in aboveground spherical nests made of dry plant material, 20-25 cm in diameter with 1-2 entrances and 2—4cm thick walls. Contacts among individuals are accompanied by acoustic communication expressed in quiet and sharp squeals emitted by both sexes. Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Yellow Steppe Lemming became extinct in western Kazakhstan (between Caspian and Aral Seas) in 19" century and in central Kazakhstan in mid-20" century. Bibliography. Bannikov (1954), Gromov & Erbajeva (1995), Ma Yong et al. (1982), Ognev (1950), Rutovskaya (2015), Sludskiy et al. (1978), Sokolov & Orlov (1980), Zhang Yongzu et al. (1997)., Published as part of Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier & Thomas E. Lacher, Jr, 2017, Cricetidae, pp. 204-535 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 7 Rodents II, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on page 315, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6707142

In the present paper, we clarify the genetic structure and taxonomy of six vole species occurring in Mongolia including Microtus mongolicus, M. maximowiczii, M. limnophilus, Eolagurus luteus, E. przewalskii and Lagurus lagurus based on the sequence data of cytochrome b and three nuclear genes. All available genetic data indicate that M. mongolicus includes two divergent genetic lineages, which should be recognized as distinct species: M. mongolicus (East Mongolia, Khentii) and M. alpinus (Khangai and adjacent areas). Both M. maximowiczii and M. limnophilus are represented in Mongolia by specific haplogroups of the intraspecies level. Nuclear, mitochondrial and chromosomal data support strong differentiation between Eolagurus luteus and E. przewalskii.

Bone remains of rodents and small lagomorphs (c. 24,000 cheek teeth) extracted from unconsolidated sediments of five karst cavities of the South Trans-Urals have been examined. On the basis of 14 C dates, two of these sites, the Syrtinsky and Alexeevsky caves, are regarded as key localities for the region; thus the main conclusions regarding the regional fauna composition and structures have been based on the fossil assemblages from these two sites. The species richness of rodent communities was calculated; the number of species changed over time. The total number of species found in the sequences amounted to 21; 15 of which occurred in both Late Pleistocene and Holocene assemblages. Four species appeared only in the beginning of the Holocene; the yellow steppe lemming and small jerboa ( Pygeretmus ) were noted to disappear at the end of the Sub-Boreal and do not occur in the modern fauna of the region. In the Late Pleistocene communities, Lagurus lagurus , Eolagurus luteus and Microtus gregalis were dominant. In the Holocene faunas, the narrow-skulled vole began to dominate and the steppe lemming decreased significantly in numbers, while the percentage of the common vole ( Microtus arvalis ) increased, though this species can be regarded as an azonal element in steppe associations. The proportions of xerophilic and mesophilic rodent species changed significantly during the interval examined: from 90% and 2% in Late Pleistocene communities to 30% and 35%, respectively, by the end of the Holocene.

Eolagurus luteus (Eversmann, 1840). Bull. Soc. Nat. Moscow, p. 25. TYPE LOCALITY: Kazakhstan, NW of Aral Sea. DISTRIBUTION: Formerly Kazakhstan region, but now extinct (see Corbet, 1978c, and reference therein); Nxingiang (Ma et al., 1987), and W Mongolia. COMMENTS: Reviewed by Corbet (1978c) and Gromov and Polyakov (1977). Cranial and dental morphology described by Hinton (1926) in context of surveying interrelationships among arvicoline genera., Published as part of Guy G. Musser & Michael D. Carleton, 1993, Order Rodentia - Family Muridae, pp. 501-755 in Mammal Species of the World (2 nd Edition), Washington and London :Smithsonian Institution Press on page 513, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7353098, {"references":["Corbet, G. B. 1978 c. The mammals of the Palaearctic region: A taxonomic review. British Museum (Natural History), London, 314 pp.","Ma Yong, Wang Feng-gui, Jin Shan-ke, and Li Si-hua. 1987. [Glires (rodents and lagomorphs) of Northern Xinjiang and their zoogeographical distribution.] Science Press, Academia Sinica, Beijing, 274 pp. (in Chinese).","Gromov, I. M., and I. Ya. Polyakov. 1977. Fauna SSSR, Mlekopitayushchie, tom 3, vyp. 8 [Fauna of the USSR, vol. 3, pt. 8, Mammals]. Polevki [Voles (Microtinae)]. Nauka, Moscow-Leningrad, 504 pp. (in Russian)."]}

Eolagurus luteus (Eversmann, 1840). Bull. Soc. Nat. Moscow, p. 25. TYPE LOCALITY: U.S. S. R., Kazakh. S.S. R., Aktyubinsk. Obi., N.W. of Aral Sea. DISTRIBUTION: Kazakhstan to N. Sinkiang (China) and W. Mongolia. COMMENT: Now extinct in Kazakhstan; see Corbet, 1978:117. Range changes in recent times reviewed by Kalabukhov, 1970, Ekologiya, 1:69-76. Formerly included in Lagurus; Gromov and Polyakov, 1977, [Voles (Microtinae), Fauna U.S. S. R.], Nauka, Moscow and Leningrad, 3(8):169, elevated Eolagurus to full generic rank and regarded przewalskii as a distinct species, op. cit., p. 174; they were followed by Sokolov and Orlov, 1980:139, and Gromov and Baranova, 1981: 184. ISIS NUMBER: 5301410008078003001 as Lagurus luteus., Published as part of James H. Honacki, Kenneth E. Kinman & James W. Koeppl, 1982, Order Rodentia (Part 4), pp. 477-504 in Mammal Species of the World (1 st Edition), Lawrence, Kansas, USA :Alien Press, Inc. & The Association of Systematics Collections on page 485, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7353034, {"references":["Gromov, I. M., and I. Ya. Polyakov. 1977. Fauna SSSR, Mlekopitayushchie, tom 3, vyp. 8 [Fauna of the USSR, vol. 3, pt. 8, Mammals]. Polevki [Voles (Microtinae)]. Nauka, Moscow-Leningrad, 504 pp. (in Russian).","Sokolov, V. E., and V. N. Orlov. 1980. Opredelitel' mlekopitayushchickh Mongol'skoi Narodnoi Respubliki [Guide to the mammals of the Mongolian People's Republic]. Nauka, Moscow, 351 pp. (in Russian).","Gromov, I. M., and G. I. Baranova (eds.). 1981. Katalog mlekopitayushchikh SSSR [Catalog of mammals of the USSR]. Nauka, Leningrad, 456 pp. (in Russian)."]}