Plateau vole

Plateau vole
Madoi County, Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai, China
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Cricetidae
Subfamily:	Arvicolinae
Genus:	Neodon
Species:	N. fuscus
Binomial name
Neodon fuscus (Büchner, 1889)
Synonyms
Microtus strauchi var. fuscus Büchner, 1890 Microtus fuscus G. S. Miller, 1896 Phaiomys fuscus Ellerman, 1941 Microtus leucurus fuscus Ellerman & Morrison-Scott, 1951 Lasiopodomys fuscus Musser & Carleton, 1993

The plateau vole (Neodon fuscus), also known as the smokey vole, Smoky Mountain vole, or the Qinghai vole, is a species of rodent found on the grasslands of the Tibetan Plateau in the Qinghai province of China. It is a grayish brown to yellow-coloured vole that eats plants and lives in large colonies. It belongs to the family Cricetidae, which includes true hamsters, voles, lemmings, muskrats, and New World rats and mice.

Plateau voles measure up to 15 centimetres (5.9 inches) long, plus a 2-to-4 cm (0.8-to-1.6 in) tail. They are closely related to several other voles found in China, including Blyth's vole. Because they inhabit regions at high elevations—from 3,700 to 4,800 metres (12,100 to 15,700 feet)—plateau voles have several adaptations that help them deal with lower concentrations of oxygen in the environment, which can induce hypoxia. These include the production of additional hemoglobin to transport oxygen in the bloodstream and switching from metabolizing fatty acids over to glucose.

Several parasites are known to affect the plateau vole, and it is thought to be impacted by poisoning across the Tibetan Plateau aimed towards small mammals, but these and other potential threats are not well studied. The vole is present in Sanjiangyuan National Park, a protected area. It is a least-concern species, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List and the China Species Red List.