Lemming

See also: Lemming (homonymy)

Many different species, pertaining to several kinds of the subfamily of arvicolinés ( Arvicolinae ), bear the name of lemmings ; most famous is the Lemming of the tundras.

Dicrostonyx exsul G. Mr. Allen, 1919.
Dicrostonyx groenlandicus (Traill, 1823) - coloured Lemming.
Dicrostonyx hudsonius (Pallas, 1778) - Lemming with collar of Hudson.
Dicrostonyx kilangmiutak Anderson and Rand, 1945.
Dicrostonyx nelsoni Merriam, 1900.
Dicrostonyx nunatakensis Youngman, 1967.
Dicrostonyx richardsoni Merriam, 1900.
Dicrostonyx rubricatus (Richardson, 1889).
Dicrostonyx torquatus (Pallas, 1778) - variable Lemming.
Dicrostonyx unalascensis Merriam, 1900.
Dicrostonyx vinogradovi Ognev, 1948.

Eolagurus luteus (Eversmann, 1840).
Eolagurus przewalskii (Büchner, 1889).

Lagurus lagurus (Pallas, 1773) - Lemming of the steppes.

Lemmus amurensis Vinogradov, 1924.
Lemmus lemmus (Linnaeus, 1758) - Lemming d' Europe or Lemming of the tundras.
Lemmus sibiricus (Kerr, 1792) - brown Lemming.

Myopus schisticolor (Lilljeborg, 1844) - Lemming of the forests.

The field voles-lemmings are them kind Synaptomys:

Synaptomys borealis (Richardson, 1828).
Synaptomys cooperi Baird, 1858

Myth of the Collective suicide

Although the popular belief is persuaded of the opposite, the lemmings do not commit suicide masses some during the migrations. It is true however that lemmings fall from cliffs or into ponds simply because of scuffles due to their great number. This old myth was maintained and popularized via documentary the the Desert of the Arctic (White Wilderness) of Walt Disney showing lemmings throwing itself top of cliffs. The realizers had in fact thorough some lemmings worms of cliffs overhanging a river all while filming them under various angles.

See too

, documentary on the suicide of the lemmings.

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