Synaptomys australis

Synaptomys australis, the Florida bog lemming, is an extinct species of bog lemming that occurred in Florida during the Late Pleistocene.

Synaptomys australis Temporal range: Pleistocene
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Cricetidae
Subfamily:	Arvicolinae
Genus:	Synaptomys
Species:	†S. australis
Binomial name
†Synaptomys australis (Simpsons, 1928)[1]

Taxonomy

Although the bog lemmings are not indigenous to Florida at the present time, remains are known there from the Pleistocene, indicating the range of these normally cold-adapted rodents extended further south during glaciation events.^[2] The Florida bog lemming was described from a lower jaw collected from Pleistocene deposits in 1928.^[3] Its taxonomic status as a full species has been questioned however, with some researchers considering it a prehistoric race of the southern bog lemming.^[4][5]

Description

The Florida bog lemming was slightly larger than the living southern bog lemming.^[4] It went extinct around 12,000 BP, as a result of glacial retreat and the return of very warm temperatures.