View source for Northern collared lemming

{{Short description|Species of rodent}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Northern collared lemming
| image = Collared lemming standing in grass - DPLA - 31b8863a7a5bd9e5bd2f73fc0565d883.jpg
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{cite iucn | author = Cassola, F.| year = 2016  | title = ''Dicrostonyx groenlandicus'' |errata=2017 | page = e.T42618A115195764 | doi = 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T42618A22331908.en }}</ref>
| genus = Dicrostonyx
| species = groenlandicus
| authority = ([[Thomas Stewart Traill|Traill]], 1823)
| synonyms = '''''kilangmiutak''''' <small>Anderson & Rand, 1945</small><br />
'''''rubricatus''''' <small>(Richardson, 1889)</small>
'''''vinogradovi''''' <small>[[Sergej Ognew|Ognev]], 1948</small>
| range_map = Northern Collared Lemming Dicrostonyx groenlandicus distribution map.png
| range_map_caption = Northern collared lemming range (not including the Wrangel lemming)<ref name=iucn/>
}}
[[File:Collared lemming lying on ground - DPLA - 90c5c1484de4928de9bfc91ef2a07dd8.jpg|thumb|right|Collared lemming lying on ground]]
The '''northern collared lemming''' or '''Nearctic collared lemming''' ('''''Dicrostonyx groenlandicus'''''), sometimes called the '''Peary Land collared lemming''' in [[Canada]], is a small [[lemming]] found in Arctic [[North America]] and [[Wrangel Island]]. At one time, it was considered to be a subspecies of the [[Arctic lemming]] (''Dicrostonyx torquatus''). Some sources believe several other species of [[collared lemming]]s found in North America are actually subspecies of ''D. groenlandicus''.<ref name = MSW3>{{MSW3 Muroidea | id = 13000190 | pages = 971–972}}</ref>

==Description==
It has a short chunky body covered with thick grey fur with a thin black stripe along its back and light grey underparts.{{cn|date=June 2024}} It has small ears, short legs and a very short tail.{{cn|date=June 2024}} It has a pale brown collar across its chest.{{cn|date=June 2024}} In winter, its fur turns white, and it has large digging claws on its front feet.{{cn|date=June 2024}} It is {{cvt|14|cm}} long with a {{cvt|1.5|cm}} tail and weighs about {{cvt|40|g|0}}.{{cn|date=June 2024}}

==Distribution and habitat==
It is found in the [[tundra]] of northern [[Canada]], [[Alaska]] and [[Greenland]]. A [[Disjunct distribution|disjunct]] population is also present on [[Wrangel Island]] in [[Siberia]]; this population was formerly considered its own species, the '''Wrangel lemming''' (''D. vinogradovi'').<ref>{{Cite iucn|author=Gerrie, R. |author2= Kennerley, R. |name-list-style=amp |year=2016 |title= ''Dicrostonyx vinogradovi'' |errata= 2017 |page= e.T6569A115082805 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T6569A22331837.en |access-date= 2021-09-05}}</ref><ref>{{Cite mdd |title=''Dicrostonyx groenlandicus'' (Traill, 1823) |id=1002125|access-date=2021-09-05}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The Mammals of Russia: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271850605|access-date=2021-09-05|website=ResearchGate|language=en}}</ref>

==Diet==
It feeds on [[grass]]es, [[Cyperaceae|sedge]]s and other green vegetation in summer, and twigs of [[willow]], [[aspen]] and [[birch]]es in winter.{{cn|date=June 2024}}

==Predators==
Predators include [[snowy owl]]s, [[gull]]s, [[wolverine]]s, the [[Arctic fox]] and the [[polar bear]].{{cn|date=June 2024}}

==Breeding==
Female lemmings have two or three litters of four to eight young in a year. The young are born in a nest in a burrow or concealed in vegetation.{{cn|date=June 2024}}

==Behaviour==
It is active year-round, day and night.{{cn|date=June 2024}} It makes runways through the surface vegetation and also digs burrows above the [[permafrost]].{{cn|date=June 2024}} It burrows under the snow in winter.{{cn|date=June 2024}} Lemming populations go through a three- or four-year cycle of boom and bust.{{cn|date=June 2024}} When their population peaks, lemmings disperse from overcrowded areas.{{cn|date=June 2024}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Arvicolinae}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1765394}}

[[Category:Dicrostonyx]]
[[Category:Mammals described in 1823]]
[[Category:Mammals of the Arctic]]
[[Category:Mammals of Greenland]]
[[Category:Rodents of Canada]]
[[Category:Rodents of the United States]]
[[Category:Arctic land animals]]
[[Category:Mammals of Siberia]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Thomas Stewart Traill]]