Arvicola
| Water voles Temporal range: Early Pleistocene - Recent
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|---|---|
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Arvicola amphibius
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Cricetidae |
| Subfamily: | Arvicolinae |
| Tribe: | Arvicolini |
| Genus: | Arvicola Lacépède , 1799
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| Type species | |
Mus amphibius | |
| Species | |
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Water voles are large
water vole found in Western North America was historically considered a member of this genus, but has been shown to be more closely related to members of the genus Microtus.[1][2]
Head and body lengths are 12–22 cm, tail lengths are 6.5–12.5 cm, and their weights are 70–250 g. The animals may exhibit indeterminate growth. They are thick-furred and have hairy fringes on their feet that improve their swimming ability.
A 2021 phylogenetic study using mtDNA found that Arvicola may not belong with the rest of its namesake tribe Arvicolini, but rather forms a sister group to the tribe Lagurini.[3]
Species
There are three species as listed by the
IUCN
:
- European (or northern) water vole (A. amphibius or A. terrestris)[4]
- Southwestern (or southern) water vole (A. sapidus)[5]
- Montane water vole (A. scherman)[6]
The American Society of Mammalogists recognizes four species, with A. italicus and A. persicus being split from A. amphibius, and A. scherman being synonymous with A. amphibius:[7]
- Eurasian water vole (A. amphibius)
- Italian water vole(A. italicus)
- Persian water vole(A. persicus)
- Southwestern water vole (A. sapidus)
References
Further reading
- Nowak, R. M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World, Vol. 2. Johns Hopkins University Press, London.
- Townsend, C., Begon, M. and Harper, J.L. 2003. Essentials of Ecology: second edition. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford.