Microtus californicus toothrow and molar .tps files

Aim. This study examines how climate shaped Microtus californicus (Rodentia: Arvicolinae) ecomorphology throughout the Quaternary. It tests three hypotheses: (1) climate corresponds with consistent shape variation in M. californicus dentition; (2) Quaternary warming and drying trends caused M. californicus morphotypes to predictably shift in range through time; (3) Quaternary warming and drying led to predictable changes in tooth morphological variation. Finally, we discuss how shifts in climate-linked morphological variation may affect the potential of M. californicus to react to future climate change.

Location. Western United States.

Taxon. Microtus californicus (Peale, 1848)

Methods. Geometric morphometrics and partial least squares (PLS) analyses were used to discern how climate contributes to consistent variation in the shapes of the M. californicus lower first molar (m1), validated for the full toothrow. We further corroborate this relationship, reconstructing precipitati...