December 2003 717 Notes RICE, D. W. 1955. Myotis keenii in Florida. Journal of Mammalogy 36:567. SEALANDER, J. A., AND G. A. HEIDT. 1990. Arkansas mammals: their natural history, classification, and distribution. University of Arkansas Press, Fayetteville. SEVENAIR, J. P., AND D. R. WILLIAMSON. 1983. The caves of Louisiana. Proceedings of the Louisiana Academy of Sciences 46:109–113. Submitted 15 March 2002. Accepted 15 November 2002. Associate Editor was Loren K. Ammerman. NOTEWORTHY DISTRIBUTIONAL RECORDS OF THE PRAIRIE VOLE IN THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES RACHEL E. MCCAFFREY,* MARK C. WALLACE,JAN F. KAMLER, AND JAMES D. RAY Department of Range, Wildlife and Fisheries Management, Texas Tech University, Box 42125, Lubbock, TX 79409-2125 (REM, MCW, JFK) BWXT Pantex, LLC, Pantex Plant, Building T-9061, Amarillo, TX 79120-0020 (JDR) *Correspondent: rachmcc@email.arizona.edu ABSTRACT Previous studies have documented the presence of the prairie vole (Microtus ochro- gaster) in the extreme northern panhandle of Texas and north-central Oklahoma, and specimens have been collected from the Oklahoma Panhandle region. In July 2000, 2 prairie voles were captured in Carson County, Texas, 80 km south of the previously reported southern range. Ad- ditionally, barn owl (Tyto alba) pellets collected from the northern Texas Panhandle and western Oklahoma Panhandle contained prairie vole remains. These remains represent the first records of the prairie vole in Cimarron County, Oklahoma, and Dallam and Sherman counties, Texas, and a new western limit for the prairie vole in Texas and Oklahoma. The specimens collected likely represent a recent southwestern range expansion of the prairie vole in the shortgrass prairies of the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles. RESUMEN Estudios previos han documentado la presencia del metorito de las praderas (Microtus ochrogaster) en la regio ´n noroeste extrema de Texas y el centro-norte de Oklahoma, y unos espe- cimenes se han colectado en la franja noroeste de Oklahoma. En julio del 2000, 2 metoritos de las praderas fueron capturados en el condado de Carson, Texas, 80 km al sur de la distribucio ´n previamente reportada. Adicionalmente, regurgitados de la lechuza Tyto alba colectados de la regio ´n noroeste extrema de Texas y de la franja noroeste de Oklahoma contuvieron restos del metorito de las praderas. Estos restos representan los primeros registros del metorito de las prad- eras en los condados de Cimarron, Oklahoma, y de Dallam y Sherman, Texas, y un nuevo lı ´mite occidental para el metorito de las praderas en Texas y Oklahoma. Los especimenes colectados probablemente representan una reciente expansio ´n distribucional hacia el sur-oeste del metorito de las praderas en las planicies de pasto corto de los extremos noroeste de Texas y de Oklahoma. The prairie vole, Microtus ochrogaster, is asso- ciated with mesic grasslands throughout much of central North America. In Texas, the prairie vole (M. o. taylori) has been documented in the extreme northern Panhandle (Manning and Jones, 1988; Choate and Killebrew, 1991), and, on the basis of a single specimen from 1902 (M. o. ludovicianus), in Hardin County in southeastern Texas ( Jones et al., 1988a). How- ever, subsequent trapping attempts in the same locality in Hardin County failed to capture an- other specimen, and Schmidly (1983) suggest- ed that the species was extirpated from eastern Texas. Several studies have documented the presence of the prairie vole in north-central Oklahoma (Caire et al., 1989; Choate, 1989; Smith, 1992; Stangl et al., 1992), and several specimens have been collected from the Oklahoma Panhandle region (Reed and Choate, 1988; Dalquest et al., 1990). In July 2000, 2 prairie voles were captured on the United States Department of Energy