Range Description

Microtus bavaricus is endemic to the Northeastern Alps. Previously it was known from only one location in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bavaria, Germany. The last record of the species at this site was in 1962. A population discovered in Northern Tyrol, Austria in 1976/1977 was much later (2000) assigned to Microtus bavaricus based on genetic and karyological analysis (Haring et al. 2000, Spitzenberger et al. 2000). This population was confirmed to exist there still in 2004. Genetic and karyological analyses of both captured individuals and museum specimens have confirmed that the Austrian population belongs to Microtus bavaricus (Haring et al. 2000, Spitzenberger et al. 2000, Martínkova et al. 2007). Intensive surveys in Germany have failed to find the species, and both of the former known sites have been lost (one as a result of urbanization, the other due to deforestation and the replacement of natural vegetation with fertilized pasture)(H. Meinig pers. comm. 2006). The species is now known only from Rofan Mountain, Northern Tyrol, Austria where it occurs in altitudes between 730 and 1,100 metres a.s.l. Given the extensive surveys that have been carried out, the species is unlikely to be found elsewhere (F. Spitzenberger pers. comm. 2006).