The Arvicolinae are a subfamily of rodents that includes the voles, lemmings, and muskrats. They are most closely related to the other subfamilies in the Cricetidae. Some authorities place the subfamily Arvicolinae in the family Muridae along with all other members of the superfamily Muroidea. Some refer to the subfamily as the Microtinae or rank the taxon as a full family, the Arvicolidae.
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".
The Bavarian pine vole is a vole from the Austrian, Italian, and Bavarian Alps of Europe. It lives in moist meadows at elevations of 600 to 1,000 meters.
The Tatra pine vole, also called the Tatra vole or Tatra ground vole, is a species of vole endemic to the Carpathian mountain range in Slovakia, Poland, Ukraine and Romania. Two subspecies have been recognised. M. t. tatricus occupies the western part of the range in Slovakia and Poland, and M. t. zykovi is found in Ukraine and Romania.
Blanfordimys is a subgenus of voles in the family Microtus. It was formerly considered a distinct genus, but taxonomic studies group it within the Microtus radiation.
The Mediterranean pine vole is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in France, Andorra, Portugal, and Spain where it lives in a network of shallow tunnels.
The Guatemalan vole is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in Guatemala and Chiapas, Mexico, in montane pine-oak forest and meadow at elevations between 2600 and 3100 m above sea level. It is terrestrial and probably diurnal or crepuscular.
The juniper vole 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 classified within the subgenus Blanfordimys in Microtus.
The creeping vole, sometimes known as the Oregon meadow mouse, is a small rodent in the family Cricetidae. Ranging across the Pacific Northwest of North America, it is found in forests, grasslands, woodlands, and chaparral environments. The small-tailed, furry, brownish-gray mammal was first described in the scientific literature in 1839, from a specimen collected near the mouth of the Columbia River. The smallest vole in its range, it weighs around 19 g. At birth, they weigh 1.6 g, are naked, pink, unable to open their eyes, and the ear flaps completely cover the ear openings. Although not always common throughout their range, there are no major concerns for their survival as a species.
Schelkovnikov's pine vole is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in Azerbaijan and Iran. It has recently been considered the sole species in the subgenus Hyrcanicola.
The European pine vole, also known as the common pine vole, is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is native to much of Europe and parts of Asia.
The Zempoaltépec vole is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. The name Microtus is from the Greek word mikros meaning small and otus meaning ear. The name umbrosus could be from the Latin umbros meaning shady. It is rather large and has a long tail when compared with other voles. Its pelage is long and soft. In the upper parts, the hair is uniformly dusky with brown tips and the lower parts a dark grey thinly washed with a reddish yellow color. It is found only in Mexico, in a semi-isolated mountain range southeast of the Cajones River in Mixes district, in Oaxaca.
The Calabria pine vole is a vole found in southern and central Italy initially described by Lehmann as a subspecies of M. savii. Genetic tests in the Calabrian region found, although similar, the X chromosome is larger than that of samples of M. savii found elsewhere in Italy and the Y chromosome is twice the size, leading Galleni in 1994 to designate M. brachycercus as a separate species.
The Qazvin vole is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in Iran and is normally given as either part of the Microtus or Sumeriomys subgenus. It is a close relative of M. guentheri distinguished by different pelage coloration and a more complex occlusal pattern.
Liechtenstein's pine vole is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in central and eastern Europe, from northern Italy through to Austria, Slovenia, Serbia and Croatia.
Pitymys is a subgenus of voles in the genus Microtus. Species in this subgenus are:
Mynomes is a North American subgenus of voles in the genus Microtus. Species in this subgenus are:
Igor Zagorodniuk is a Ukrainian zoologist, mammalogist, ecologist, and founder of Theriological school. He is a laureate of the State Prize of Ukraine in the field of science and technology (2015), and the author of more than 500 scientific publications.
Microtini is a tribe of voles in the subfamily Arvicolinae.
D.E. Wilson & D.M. Reeder, 2005: Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. Third Edition. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
