Microtus

Vole ( Microtus arvalis )

The field mice ( Microtus ) are a rodent genus of the subfamily of voles. They comprise about 60 species that live in North America, Europe and Asia.

The body length of the animals is 8 to 18 inches, the tail is 2 to 10 centimeters rather short and usually measures less than half the body length. Weight may vary depending on the type 20-170 grams. The fur of the animals is relatively long, it is yellowish at the top, reddish-brown, greyish brown or black, the underside is lighter. The ears are small and almost completely covered by the fur.

Voles inhabit different habitats, from tundra on dry grasslands to forests. Many species build underground burrows. They are mostly crepuscular or nocturnal and do not hibernate. The social behavior is variable and puzzling part. Some species live in colonies of hundreds of animals, but nevertheless respond aggressively to each other.

Voles are strict herbivores, grasses, leaves, twigs, tubers, seeds, nuts and take another to himself. They consume often within 24 hours of the extent of one's own body weight.

The types

The exact number of species and the division into subgenera is still controversial. Wilson & Reeder (2005) lists the following 62 species:

  • Not assigned to a subgenus Microtus abbreviatus lives only on the nearby islands in the Bering Strait Hall and St. Matthews. Your level of danger is unclear.
  • The California vole ( Microtus californicus ) inhabited the Pacific coast of the USA (from Oregon to California) and northern Mexico.
  • The Gelbnasige vole ( Microtus chrotorrhinus ) inhabited southeastern Canada and the northeastern United States.
  • The Guatemala vole ( Microtus guatemalensis ) lives in southern Mexico and Guatemala.
  • The long-tailed vole ( Microtus longicaudus ) is widespread in western North America from Alaska to California.
  • The Mexican vole ( Microtus mexicanus ) inhabited the southwestern United States and much of Mexico. According to IUCN, the species is endangered.
  • The Alaska vole ( Microtus miurus ) lives in Alaska and northwestern Canada.
  • The Richardson - vole ( Microtus richardsoni ) is widespread in the Rocky Mountains in Canada and the northern United States.
  • The Zempoaltépec Vole ( Microtus umbrosus ) is known only from the north of the Mexican state of Chiapas.
  • The Gelbwangenwühlmaus ( Microtus xanthognathus ), one of the largest species inhabits forests in Alaska and northern Canada.
  • The field vole ( Microtus agrestis ) lives in much of Europe and northern Asia.
  • The Anatolian vole ( Microtus anatolicus ) is known only from the vicinity of the Turkish city of Konya.
  • The vole ( Microtus arvalis ) comes from Western Europe to Siberia and China.
  • The Cabrera vole ( Microtus cabrerae ) occurs only on the Iberian Peninsula.
  • The Dogramaci Vole ( Microtus dogramacii ) is known only from the regions of Amasya and Konya in Turkey.
  • The Mediterranean vole ( Microtus guentheri ) lives in the Balkans, the Middle East and North Africa ( Libya).
  • The Kazakhstan vole ( Microtus ilaeus ) is distributed by the Aral Sea to northwest China.
  • The Iranian Vole ( Microtus irani ) is known only from the western Iran ( Fars Province ).
  • The East European vole ( Microtus levis ) comes from eastern Europe ( Finland to the Balkans) to Siberia. In Spitsbergen it has been introduced.
  • Microtus paradoxus living in Turkmenistan and northern Iran.
  • The Qazvin Vole ( Microtus qazvinensis ) occurs exclusively in the Iranian province of Qazvin.
  • Microtus schidlovskii lives in Georgia and Armenia, their exact distribution is unclear.
  • The Levant vole ( Microtus socialis ) is native to the eastern Mediterranean and in Eastern Europe and Central Asia to China.
  • The Tatra vole ( Microtus tatricus ) lives in the Tatra Mountains in Slovakia and Poland, possibly also in Ukraine and Romania.
  • Microtus transcaspicus is distributed from Turkmenistan through Iran to Afghanistan.
  • The Bavarian vole ( Microtus bavaricus ) is known from the Bavarian Alps and the Tyrol.
  • The Calabrian vole ( Microtus brachycercus ) inhabits the Calabrian peninsula in southern Italy.
  • The Caucasus vole ( Microtus daghestanicus ) lives in the Caucasus region of southern Russia to Turkey and Azerbaijan.
  • The Mediterranean Kleinwühlmaus ( Microtus duodecimcostatus ) lives in Portugal, Spain and southeast France.
  • Microtus felteni inhabited the Balkan region of Serbia and Greece.
  • Microtus gerbei is widespread in south-western France and northern Spain.
  • The Illyrian vole ( Microtus Liechtenstein ) is native of southern Austria and northern Italy to Serbia.
  • The Iberian Kleinwühlmaus ( Microtus lusitanicus ) lives in Portugal and parts of Spain.
  • Microtus majori is distributed from the northeast Turkey to Iran.
  • The Alpine Kleinwühlmaus ( Microtus multiplex ) inhabited the western Alps and the Apennines.
  • The Savi Kleinwühlmaus ( Microtus savii ) lives in Italy and southern Switzerland.
  • Microtus schelkovnikovi occurs only in Azerbaijan and northern Iran.
  • The vole ( Microtus subterraneus ) is widespread in northern and central Europe.
  • The Balkan vole ( Microtus thomasi ) lives on the western Balkans from Bosnia- Herzegovina to Greece.
  • The Strandwühlmaus ( Microtus breweri ) is known only from the Muskeget Island off the coast of the U.S. state of Massachusetts.
  • Microtus canicaudus lives in the Pacific Northwest (Oregon, Washington).
  • The Rocky Mountain Vole ( Microtus montanus ) inhabits mountainous areas in southwestern Canada and the western United States.
  • The Oregon vole ( Microtus oregoni ) is found in forests in southwestern Canada and the U.S. West.
  • The Wiesenwühlmaus ( Microtus pennsylvanicus ) living in many parts of North America. The Gull - Wiesenwühlmaus (M. p. Nesophilus ) is an extinct subspecies.
  • The Townsend Vole ( Microtus townsendii ) inhabited Southwest Canada and the western United States.
  • Microtus clarkei living in southern China and northern Myanmar.
  • Microtus evoronensis is native to the Khabarovsk region in eastern Siberia. It is regarded as threatened with extinction.
  • The Schilfwühlmaus ( Microtus fortis ) living in southeastern Siberia, on the Korean Peninsula and eastern China.
  • The Taiwan vole ( Microtus kikuchii ) is endemic to Taiwan.
  • Microtus limnophilus occurs in northern China.
  • Microtus maximowiczii lives in eastern Siberia, Mongolia and Northeast China.
  • Microtus middendorffii is widespread in northern Siberia from the Urals to the Kolyma.
  • The Mongolian vole ( Microtus mongolicus ) lives in Mongolia, the Russian Far East and Northeast China.
  • Microtus montebelli native to the Japanese islands of Honshu, Kyushu and Sado.
  • Microtus mujanensis is known only from one location in the Russian Republic of Buryatia. The species is threatened with extinction, according to IUCN.
  • The marsh mouse or root vole ( Microtus oeconomus ) occurs from Scandinavia to eastern Siberia and in the northwest of North America.
  • The Sakhalin Vole ( Microtus sachalinensis ) is endemic to the Russian island of Sakhalin.
  • Microtus gregalis is spread from Eastern Europe over parts of Central Asia to eastern Siberia.
  • Microtus oaxacensis is endemic in the Mexican state of Oaxaca.
  • The Kiefernwühlmaus ( Microtus pinetorum ) lives in the eastern United States.
  • Microtus quasiater inhabited the eastern Mexico.
  • The Präriewühlmaus ( Microtus ochrogaster ) living in the Great Plains region of North America.

The Afghan voles ( Blanfordimys ), snow mice ( Chionomys ) Lasiopodomys, Neodon, the Blyth Vole ( Phaiomys ) and the Bedford Vole ( Proedromys ) are sometimes also expected to field mice, but out here as a separate species.

Common vole Liechtenstein's pine vole Don E. Wilson
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