The southern red-backed vole or Gapper's red-backed vole (''Clethrionomys gapperi'') is a small slender
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 ...
found in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
and the northern
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. It is closely related to the
western red-backed vole (''Clethrionomys californius''), which lives to the south and west of its range and which is less red with a less sharply bicolored tail.
Description
These voles have short slender bodies with a reddish band along the back and a short tail. The sides of the body and head are grey and the underparts are paler. There is a grey color morph in the northeast part of their range. They are long with a 4 cm tail
[Southern Red-backed Vole]
, borealforest.org and weigh about 6–42 g; average 20.6 g (0.21–1.48 oz; average 0.72 oz).
Animal Diversity Web They are active year-round, mostly at night. They use burrows created by other small animals, such as squirrels and groundhogs.
Habitat
These animals are found in conifer
Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...
ous, deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
, and mixed forests, often near wetlands. They tend to follow paths they have established, runways through the surface growth in warm weather and tunnels through the snow in winter. They are omnivorous, feeding on green plants, underground fungi
A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...
, seeds, nuts, and roots, as well as insects, snails, and berries.[ They can store foods such as roots, bulbs, and nuts to feed on later.
]
Predators
Predators include hawk
Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are very widely distributed and are found on all continents, except Antarctica.
The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks, and others. This ...
s, owl
Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...
s, and mustelid
The Mustelidae (; from Latin , weasel) are a diverse family of carnivoran mammals, including weasels, badgers, otters, polecats, martens, grisons, and wolverines. Otherwise known as mustelids (), they form the largest family in the suborde ...
s.
Breeding
Female voles have two to four litters of two to eight young in a year.[
]
References
External links
Nature Works TV.org: Southern Red-backed Vole
Clethrionomys
Rodents of Canada
Rodents of the United States
Fauna of the Eastern United States
Fauna of the Plains-Midwest (United States)
Mammals described in 1830
Least concern biota of the United States
Taxa named by Nicholas Aylward Vigors
{{Arvicolinae-stub