Beringian climate during intercontinental dispersal: a mouse eye view

Abstract Microtine rodents (meadow mice [=voles], muskrats, and lemmings) have evolved so rapidly over the past 5 Ma that they can be correlated with specific climatic events and their habitats are so specific that they suggest climatic conditions in different areas at the time. Examination of these records not only provides strong evidence of the nature of climate over North America and the Bering Land Bridge, but also suggests some unconventional reasons for the development of continental glaciation.