Cabrera's Vole Microtus cabrerae Thomas, 1906 and the subgenus Iberomys during the Quaternary: Evolutionary implications and conservation

The corological evolution of the species of the subgenus Iberomys and, specifically, of Microtus cabrerae, are described. Iberomys appeared in the Iberian Peninsula during the Lower Pleistocene and then reached southern France and Italy during the Middle Pleistocene. M. cabrerae established itself as an Iberian endemic during the final glacial period and subsequently occupied South-Eastern France. This latter population and those found along the Mediterranean coast survived until the Subatlantic period. Thus, it is concluded that Iberomys is endemic to the European sector of the western Mediterranean Basin, but once was found over much more of the Iberian Peninsula, Italy and France. The Iberian Peninsula is, nevertheless, fundamental in its life history as its evolutionary centre and the origin of expansions into other areas. On the other hand, it is possible to locate the centre of origin of the subgenus Iberomys at a regional scale (the Iberian Peninsula) and adapt its evolutionary cycle to a Symmetrical Model. The contraction of the range of M. cabrerae during the Holocene is not related to the Subboreal climatic crisis; rather, it took place during the Subatlantic and could be related to the expansion of agriculture, which probably destroyed many of its habitats. Thus, this reduction in its range is anthropic in origin and could be corrected by means of appropriate management and conservation policies.