The Skomer vole (''Myodes glareolus skomerensis'') is a subspecies of bank vole

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to the island of

Skomer Skomer () or Skomer Island is an island off the coast of Pembrokeshire, in the community of Marloes and St Brides in west Wales. It is well known for its wildlife: around half the world's population of Manx shearwaters nest on the island, the A ...

, off the west coast of Wales. The bank vole was probably introduced by humans at some time after the last

glaciation A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate be ...

. It is one of four small mammal species on Skomer. There are approximately 20,000 voles on the island. The vole's main

predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

s are

owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...

s, but it is also eaten by other predators, including

common kestrel The common kestrel (''Falco tinnunculus'') is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European kestrel, Eurasian kestrel, or Old World kestrel. In the United Kingdom, where n ...

, common buzzard and peregrine falcon. Like other voles they are short-lived, surviving to around 18 months old at most. At their largest they are roughly long and weigh a maximum of .

Discovery

The Skomer vole was discovered by Robert Drane (d. 1914), a pharmacist from Swansea who was a founding member of the Cardiff Naturalists Society in 1867, and at sometime its president, and also an authority on porcelain and honorary curator of Cardiff Museum.

References

Myodes Rodents of Europe Endemic fauna of Wales Environment of Pembrokeshire {{arvicolinae-stub