NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Northern Bog Lemming
Synaptomys (Mictomys) borealis (Richardson, 1828)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
![Book plate / color illustration from The viviparous quadrupeds of North America, i. e. four-legged mammals of North America
The John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove : [...] "The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America" [is] Audubon's second monumental project. With the publication of “The Birds of America” earning John James Audubon worldwide fame he became interested in his next large-scale project. In the early 1840’s he began working on “The Viviparous Quadrupeds Of North America” with the help of his son John Woodhouse Audubon. They would produce 150 folio drawings, measuring approxima](/assets/optimized/4516ef7d30f46ec54edbe61b1a1c1d3341f3e148d02edac607249c996c67c5ae.webp)
Book plate / color illustration from The viviparous quadrupeds of North America, i. e. four-legged mammals of North America The John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove : [...] "The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America" [is] Audubon's second monumental project. With the publication of “The Birds of America” earning John James Audubon worldwide fame he became interested in his next large-scale project. In the early 1840’s he began working on “The Viviparous Quadrupeds Of North America” with the help of his son John Woodhouse Audubon. They would produce 150 folio drawings, measuring approximately 22x28 inches, hand-printed and hand colored by J.T. Bowen of Philadelphia. Each print is dated with many later plates being credited to John Woodhouse Audubon as his father’s health declined. The prints are dated 1845 – 1848. Authors: John Bachman (1790–1874); John James Audubon (1785–1851) Illustrations: Artists John James Audubon and John Woodhouse Audubon (1812–1862); lithographer John T. Bowen (ca. 1801-1856?) Publisher: J. J. Audubon, New York,1845. Original image in the collections of the New York Public Library: https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/collections/the-viviparous-quadrupeds-of-north-america Digitally enhanced by [www.rawpixel.com/category/public_domain rawpixel]: Free download under CC Attribution ( CC BY 4.0). Please credit the artist and rawpixel.com.
Free Public Domain Illustrations by rawpixel · CC BY 2.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The northern bog lemming (Synaptomys borealis) is a small North American lemming. It is one of two species in the genus Synaptomys, the other being the southern bog lemming (S. cooperi). Very little information is available about this species' life as they are hard to find and study. The northern bog lemming is a small, reddish-brown rodent with a short tail, and distinct markings on their upper teeth. These markings, along with having four pairs of teats, distinguishes this species from the southern bog lemming. The northern bog lemming lives in wet habitats in North America and is omnivorous, eating herbaceous material and invertebrates. They are thought to be extremely sociable animals and sexually mature at around 6 weeks old. Predators include most medium to larger sized carnivorous and omnivorous mammals that eat smaller mammals. The northern bog lemming is listed as a species of "Least Concern" by the IUCN Red List and is considered threatened or of concern in states such as Minnesota and Maine.
Wikipedia contributors, Northern bog lemming; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:42:17.787311+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Synaptomys (Mictomys) borealis (Richardson, 1828)
- Name authority
- (Richardson, 1828)
- Common name
- Northern Bog Lemming
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Cricetidae
- Genus
- Synaptomys
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderRodentia Bowdich, 1821
- suborderMyomorpha Brandt, 1855
- superfamilyMuroidea Illiger, 1811
- familyCricetidae Fischer, 1817
- subfamilyArvicolinae Gray, 1821
- genusSynaptomys Baird, 1857
- subgenusMictomys True, 1894
- speciesSynaptomys (Mictomys) borealis (Richardson, 1828)
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Synaptomys andersoni J. A. Allen, 1903 J. A. Allen, 1903 | synonym |
| Synaptomys dalli Merriam, 1896 Merriam, 1896 | synonym |
| Synaptomys sphagnicola Preble, 1899 Preble, 1899 | synonym |
| Synaptomys truei Merriam, 1896 Merriam, 1896 | synonym |
| Synaptomys borealis artemisiae Anderson, 1932 Anderson, 1932 | synonym |
| Synaptomys borealis sphagnicola Preble, 1899 Preble, 1899 | synonym |
| Synaptomys innuitus medioximus Bangs, 1900 Bangs, 1900 | synonym |
| Mictomys innuitus True, 1894 True, 1894 | synonym |
| Synaptomys bullatus Preble, 1902 Preble, 1902 | synonym |
| Synaptomys chapmani J. A. Allen, 1903 J. A. Allen, 1903 | synonym |
| Synaptomys wrangeli Merriam, 1896 Merriam, 1896 | synonym |
| Synaptomys borealis smithi Anderson & Rand, 1943 Anderson & Rand, 1943 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=180323 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:7B88Z. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.