Beringian lemming

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The Beringian lemming, or the Beringian brown lemming, Lemmus nigripes, is a small rodent found in Russia and North America. It was once thought to be the same species as the Canadian lemming, but genetic studies show they are distinct.

This lemming lives on both sides of the Bering Sea, roughly along the old land bridge called Beringia. In Siberia, its range is east of the Kolyma River, covering most of Chukotka, northern Magadan, and northern Kamchatka Krai. West of the river lives the East Siberian lemming (Lemmus paulus). A separate population of L. nigripes also exists in southern Kamchatka, an area otherwise home to L. paulus.

In North America, the Beringian lemming is found across much of Alaska (including St. Lawrence Island and Nunivak Island) and nearby Yukon and parts of Canada, but not south of the Alaska Range, where it is replaced by the Canadian lemming (Lemmus trimucronatus).