Microtus

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Genus of rodents

title: "Microtus" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["microtus", "arvicolinae", "rodent-genera", "taxa-named-by-franz-von-paula-schrank", "extant-piacenzian-first-appearances"] description: "Genus of rodents" topic_path: "general/microtus" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microtus" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Genus of rodents ::

| fossil_range = Late Pliocene - recent | image = Microtus lusitanicus.jpg | image_caption = Lusitanian pine vole | taxon = Microtus | authority = Schrank, 1798 | type_species = Microtus terrestris | type_species_authority = Schrank, 1798 (= Mus arvalis Pallas, 1778) | subdivision_ranks = Subgenera | subdivision = Blanfordimys

Euarvicola

Hyrcanicola

Microtus

Pedomys

Pitymys

Terricola

Tyrrhenicola

Microtus is a genus of voles found in North America, Europe and northern Asia. The genus name refers to the small ears of these animals. 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". ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Microtus_skulls_Bailey_1900.jpg" caption="''Microtus'' skulls (Bailey, 1900)"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Microtus_skulls_Bailey_1900_bottom.jpg" caption="''Microtus'' skull bases (Bailey, 1900)"] ::

There is some disagreement on the definitive list of species in this genus, and which subgenera are recognized. The American Society of Mammalogists recognizes the following 60 species, with discrepancies as noted:

Subgenus Blanfordimys

Subgenus Euarvicola

Subgenus Hyrcanicola (not recognized by the ASM, listed in subgenus Microtus)

Subgenus Iberomys

Subgenus Microtus

Subgenus Pedomys (not recognized by the ASM, listed in subgenus Pitymys)

Subgenus Pitymys (includes the former subgenus Mynomes)

Subgenus Terricola

The IUCN recognizes these additional species:

  • Bavarian pine vole (Microtus bavaricus) (included in M. multiplex by ASM)
  • Singing vole (Microtus miurus) (IUCN lists this as split from M. gregalis, but the ASM lists M. miurus as a synonym of M. abbreviatus)
  • Elbeyli vole (Microtus elbeyli) (IUCN list this as distinct from M. irani)
  • Qazvin vole (Microtus qazvinensis) (IUCN list this as distinct from M. irani)

There is also at least one known subfossil species known:

Subgenus Tyrrhenicola

References

References

  1. "''Microtus''".
  2. Mammal Diversity Database. (2023). "Mammal Diversity Database (Version 1.11) [Data set]". Zenodo.
  3. "''Microtus lavernedii''".
  4. "''Microtus rozianus''".
  5. "''Microtus hartingi''".
  6. "''Microtus mustersi''".
  7. "''Microtus obscurus''".
  8. "''Microtus rossiaemeridionalis''".
  9. "''Microtus mogollonensis''".
  10. "''Microtus fingeri''".
  11. "''Microtus nebrodensis''".
  12. "''Microtus abbreviatus''".
  13. (2019). "''Microtus elbeyli''".
  14. (2016). "''Microtus qazvinensis''".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

microtusarvicolinaerodent-generataxa-named-by-franz-von-paula-schrankextant-piacenzian-first-appearances