Variability of some exterior features of Myodes glareolus Schreber inhabiting the Tver region
In the study of population characteristics of the size and body proportions of the red vole living in the Tver region, for some of the 7 samples considered, the presence of sexual dimorphism along the length of the body and tail was registered. The most pronounced differences in animals were observed in body length: according to this exterior feature, two groups of populations can be distinguished, which are compared with high levels of significance of differences - western (larger animals) and northeastern (voles with smaller bodies). Foot length is the least variable metric feature in red voles living in the Tver region; for other exterior features, certain patterns of geographical variability were not observed. Examination of the taxonomic significance of population differences in the applied morphological indicators using the CD difference coefficient showed that all the detected differences did not reach the level of subspecies and are populational. The meanings of the mean and extreme body length values of red voles from the north-eastern regions of the Tver region were similar to those presented in the literature for the northern subspecies of red voles (M. gl. Suecicus Miller) within the western part of its range.