vole
Voles are small rodents that are relatives of lemmings and hamsters, but with a stouter body; a longer, hairy tail; a slightly rounder head; smaller eyes and ears; and differently formed molars (high-crowned with angular cusps instead of lo ...
s found in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...
,
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
and northern
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
. The genus name refers to the small ears of these animals. About 62 species are placed in the genus. They are stout rodents with short ears, legs and tails. They eat green vegetation such as grasses and sedges in summer, and grains, seeds, root and bark at other times. The genus is also called "meadow voles".ITIS database
The species are:
*
Insular vole
The insular vole or St. Matthew Island vole (''Microtus abbreviatus'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It occurs only on St. Matthew Island and the adjacent Hall Island, in Alaska. On these Bering Sea islands, insular voles liv ...
(''M. abbreviatus'')
* California vole (''M. californicus'')
*
Rock vole
The rock vole (''Microtus chrotorrhinus'') is a medium-sized vole found in eastern North America. It is also called the yellow-nosed vole.
Description
This species is similar in appearance to the larger taiga vole. It has short ears and a long ...
Anatolian vole
The Anatolian vole (''Microtus anatolicus'') is a species of vole found in Turkey, specifically Konya Province. The population is unknown but it lives in small colonies. The species exists in an area that is a remnant zone of Tethys Ocean, and th ...
Doğramaci's vole
Doğramaci's vole (''Microtus dogramacii'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found only in central Turkey, and is similar to the social vole, although different in terms of cranial proportions and karyotype
A karyotype i ...
(''M. dogramacii'')
*
Elbeyli vole
Elbeyli, formerly Alimantar, is a town and district of Kilis Province in Turkey.
Elbeyli was controlled by the Seljuk Turks between 1040 and 1157, then the Ilkhanate, and finally by the Anatolian beylik of Dulkadirids before being brought into ...
(''M. elbeyli'')
*
Günther's vole
Günther's vole (''Microtus guentheri'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae, also known by the name Levant vole.
It is found in Bulgaria, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, North Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, Syria, Tur ...
Tien Shan vole
The Tien Shan vole (''Microtus ilaeus'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ...
(''M. ilaeus'')
*
Persian vole
The Persian vole (''Microtus irani'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae.
It is only found in Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is b ...
(''M. irani'')
*
Mediterranean field vole
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...
(''M. lavernedii'')
*
Kerman vole
Kerman ( fa, كرمان, Kermân ; also romanized as Kermun and Karmana), known in ancient times as the satrapy of Carmania, is the capital city of Kerman Province, Iran. At the 2011 census, its population was 821,394, in 221,389 households, ...
(''M. kermanensis'')
*
Turkish vole
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
Paradox vole
The paradox vole ('Microtus paradoxus'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae found in southern Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by ...
Afghan vole
The Afghan vole (''Microtus afghanus'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in south-central Asia.
Characteristics
The Afghan vole has a small, stocky body, a blunt, rounded muzzle and rounded ears. The colour varies a ...
(''M. afghanus'')
*
Bucharian vole
The Bucharian vole (''Microtus bucharicus'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. Its natural habitat is temperate desert
A desert is a barren area of lands ...
(''M. bucharicus'')
*
Juniper vole
The juniper vole (''Microtus juldaschi'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae.
It is found in Afghanistan, China, Pakistan and Tajikistan. It was formerly classified in the genus '' Neodon'', but genetic evidence indicates that it is ...
Daghestan pine vole
The Daghestan pine vole (''Microtus daghestanicus'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae.
It is found in Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also ...
Felten's vole
Felten's vole (''Microtus felteni'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae.
It is found in Albania, Greece, North Macedonia, and Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landloc ...
(''M. felteni'')
*
Gerbe's vole
Gerbe's vole (''Microtus gerbii'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae
The Cricetidae are a family of rodents in the large and complex superfamily Muroidea. It includes true hamsters, voles, lemmings, muskrats, and New World rats a ...
Lusitanian pine vole
The Lusitanian pine vole (''Microtus lusitanicus'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae.
It is endemic to the northwestern half of the Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberic ...
Alpine pine vole
The alpine pine vole (''Microtus multiplex'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae.
It is found in Austria, France, Italy, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegowina (Una National ParkSicilian pine vole (''M. nebrodensis'')
*
Savi's pine vole
Savi's pine vole (''Microtus savii'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae
The Cricetidae are a family of rodents in the large and complex superfamily Muroidea. It includes true hamsters, voles, lemmings, muskrats, and New World rat ...
Thomas's pine vole
Thomas's pine vole (''Microtus thomasi'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae.
It is found in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and possibly Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also ...
Gray-tailed vole
The gray-tailed vole (''Microtus canicaudus'') also known as the gray-tailed meadow vole or gray-tailed meadow mouse, is a rodent in the genus ''Microtus'' (small-eared "meadow voles") of the family Cricetidae. Voles are small mammals, and this ...
Beach vole
The beach vole (''Microtus breweri'') or Muskeget vole is a rodent in the family Cricetidae. This close relative of the eastern meadow vole (''Microtus pennsylvanicus'') is endemic to the 0.87km² Muskeget Island, Massachusetts. Due to its re ...
Reed vole
The reed vole (''Alexandromys fortis'') is a species of vole. It is found in northern and central Eurasia, including northern China and the Korean Peninsula. This species is somewhat larger and longer-tailed than most other voles.
Description ...
(''M. fortis'')
*
Taiwan vole
The Taiwan vole (''Microtus kikuchii'', now ''Alexandromys kikuchii'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae, It is an endemic species of Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a Country, country in East Asia, ...
(''M. kikuchii'')
*
Lacustrine vole
The lacustrine vole (''Microtus limnophilus'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae.
It is found in China and Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; literal translation, lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a ...
(''M. limnophilus'')
*
Maximowicz's vole
Maximowicz's vole (''Microtus maximowiczii'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae.
It is found in northeastern China, Mongolia, and eastern Russia.
Description
Maximowicz's vole is one of the largest voles in the genus ''Microtus''. ...
Mongolian vole
The Mongolian vole (''Microtus mongolicus'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae.
It is found in China, Mongolia, and Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe an ...
(''M. mongolicus'')
*
Japanese grass vole
The Japanese grass vole (''Microtus montebelli'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae.
It is found only in Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the ...
Tundra vole
The tundra vole (''Microtus oeconomus'') or root vole is a medium-sized vole found in Northern and Central Europe, Asia, and northwestern North America, including Alaska and northwestern Canada. In the western part of the Netherlands, the tundra ...
Pitymys
Pitymys is a subgenus of voles in the genus Microtus. Species in this subgenus are:
*Guatemalan vole (''Microtus guatemalensis'')
* Tarabundí vole (''Microtus oaxacensis'')
*Woodland vole
The woodland vole (''Microtus pinetorum'') is a small ...
Tarabundí vole
The Tarabundí vole (''Microtus oaxacensis'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae.
It is found only in Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America ...
(''M. oaxacensis'')
*
Woodland vole
The woodland vole (''Microtus pinetorum'') is a small vole found in eastern North America. It is also known as the pine vole.
Characteristics
The woodland vole has a head and body length ranging between with a short tail. Its weight ranges bet ...
(''M. pinetorum'')
*
Jalapan pine vole
The Jalapan pine vole (''Microtus quasiater'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae, found only in Mexico. The scientific name ''quasiater'' translates as "almost black", while the common name refers to the city of Jalapa, close to wh ...
(''M. quasiater'')
Subgenus ''
Pedomys
The prairie vole (''Microtus ochrogaster'') is a small vole found in central North America. The vole has long, coarse grayish-brown fur on the upper portion of the body and yellowish fur on the lower portion of the body. It has short ears and a ...