Mammals · Rodentia · Cricetidae
Common Vole
Microtus arvalis
The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary
A small rodent of solid build and rounded appearance, with a short neck, broad head, blunt muzzle and short but clearly visible ears. The back is yellowish brown and the belly greyish white, with no difference between the sexes. It is very hard to tell apart from the field vole (Microtus agrestis).
Weight
30 g – 72 g
Size
8 cm – 13 cm
Lifespan
2 years
Diet
Herbivore
Feeds mainly on plants.
Activity
Diurnal
Active mainly during the day.
Social structure
Colony
Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.
Sighting difficulty
Easy
Estimated population
At the peak of the 2007 outbreak in Castile and León some 750 million individuals were estimated over 2 million hectares, with densities of up to 2,000 voles per hectare
Fun facts
- It is regarded as the most aggressive vertebrate pest of European agriculture: a whole new generation can appear in under two months.
- It is territorial when scarce, but relaxes its territoriality when abundant and forms colonies of related individuals, which allows extremely high densities.
- Mass poisoning campaigns using treated grain may have helped tularaemia to spread, because of the number of carcasses left exposed at the surface.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)
- Habitat & environment
- Green herbaceous vegetation of any kind, from mountain meadows to cereal plains. It is semi-fossorial: it lives in underground galleries with a spherical nest 20-50 cm down, but feeds at the surface
- Birth weight
- Born blind and naked
- Size at birth
- Born blind and naked; it opens its eyes at around 9-10 days
- Sexual maturity
- Females in their first month of life, males in their second
- Gestation / incubation
- 21 - 22 days
- Litter / clutch size
- 2-11 young per litter, able to breed all year round under favourable conditions
Sources consulted: Hernández, Sánchez-González, Navarro-Castilla y Barja 2017, Enciclopedia Virtual de los Vertebrados Españoles (MNCN-CSIC); SECEM; Luque-Larena et al. 2013, Basic and Applied Ecology 14(5); Jareño et al. (tesis doctoral UCLM 2014); ITACyL; Junta de Castilla y León
Where to find it
See its range on the interactive mapBest time: All year round; it alternates two- or three-hour spells of activity and rest, both by day and by night
Where to watch it
Parques y spots de buceo donde se ha documentado esta especie — se muestran 10 de 147 documentados.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Common Vole — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Common Hamster
Cricetus cricetus
Southern Water Vole
Arvicola sapidus
Common Muskrat
Ondatra zibethicus
Rose-ringed Parakeet
Psittacula krameri
Field Grasshopper
Chorthippus brunneus
Spanish Sparrow
Passer hispaniolensis
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