Collared lemmings
Order : Rodentia
Suborder : Sciurognathi
Family : Muridae
Subfamily : Arvicolinae
Genus : Dicrostonyx
Facts about the genus Dicrostonyx, the collared lemmings
(a hungry Snowy Owl) Collared Lemmings are small little rodents that are important in the arctic food chain.
Collared lemmings are particularly well adapted to life at high latitude, they occasionally emerge to the surface of the snow and may disperse over larger distances than brown lemmings – possibly even over snow and ice.
Collared lemmings are the only rodents that molt to a camouflaging white for winter.
Collared lemmings are the same overall size as brown lemmings but with a shorter tail (about 15mm).
In addition to "long day" and "short day" morphologies, apparent when animals are exposed to 22L:2D and 8L:16D, respectively, animals with intermediate features appear when collared lemmings are placed on day lengths ranging from 18L:6D to 14L:10D.
Collared lemmings are the onlyrodents that molt to a camouflaging . (Full text)
Main Entry: dicrostonyx dicrostonyx is one of more than 1,000,000 entries available at Merriam-WebsterUnabridged. (Full text)
Whether weight loss associated with photoperiod change (SD-LD) in collared lemmings is caused by a decrease in food intake or an increase in energy expenditure is currently unknown. (Full text)
Discussion: The results of this study indicate that the increase in body mass that occurs when collared lemmings are exposed to a short photoperiod may be primarily fueled by a decrease in REE and is correlated with a decrease in Ucp1 mRNA levels. (Full text)
Greenland collared lemmings are one of only a few lemmings found in the High Arctic, and prefer drier terrain than most others. (Full text)
These results support the hypothesis that larger body size in collared lemmings is a thermal adaptation related to greater reproductive effort in winter relative to other microtines. (Full text)
