Microtus pennsylvanicus (Ord); Meadow Vole

Don Linzey & Christy Brecht
Wytheville Community College
Wytheville, Virginia 24382

Species Description

Phylogeny

Geographic distribution

Habitat

Natural History

Conservation Biology

Links to Other Sites

Acknowledgements

References

© Copyright Roger Barbour. All rights reserved.
Microtus pennsylvanicus -- Meadow Vole

Last updated: 26 November, 2005

Species Description

Adult total length: 5 - 7 1/5 in. (125 - 190mm)
Tail: 1 2/5 - 2 3/5 in. (38 - 63 mm)
Hind foot: 3/4 - 1 in. (19 - 24 mm)
Weight: 1 - 2 1/2 oz. (28 - 70 g)
Physical Characteristics: Meadow voles are dark brown to brownish-gray with silvery-gray underparts. The small ears are partially hidden in the fur. The short tail is usually less than half as long as the head and body combined. The eyes are small and black.


left lateral view of skull and mandible	dorsal view of skull	ventral view of skull

Index
Phylogeny

Taxonomic Category	Scientific Name	Common Name
Phylum	Chordata	Chordates
Class	Mammalia	Mammals
Order	Rodentia	Mice, rats, squirrels, etc.
Family	Muridae	Murid rats and mice

Index
Geographic distribution

The meadow vole is a northern species and ranges throughout most of Alaska, Canada, and the northern conterminous United States. The range extends southeastward through Utah, New Mexico, northern Missouri, Kentucky, and eastern Tennesssee to northern Georgia, South Carolina, and the westcentral coast of Florida.

Range Maps

North America	Great Smokies

Great Smoky Mountains National Park: This species was not taken in the park until December 1965, when the Linzey's recorded a juvenile female in a marshy field along the Oconaluftee River, 0.5 mile northwest of the Smokemont Campground at an elevation of 2,200 feet (Linzey and Linzey, 1967).

Index
Habitat

This open grassland species is most often found in old fields, orchards, and low, moist areas near streams and rivers.

Index
Natural History

Reproduction
Female meadow voles are prolific breeders with a gestation period of 3 weeks and a two-week nursing period until weaning. Litters of three to five young may be born during any month. The young are blind, hairless, and helpless but develop rapidly. Females may be able to breed when approximately 25 days old. One female in captivity is known to have produced 17 litters in one year.

Longevity
Most meadow voles live only three to six months, although there are some records of wild individuals living for 18 months.

Terrestrial Ecology
Meadow voles are active at all hours during all seasons. They tend to be solitary during the breeding season and communal during the winter nonbreeding season (Tamarin, 1999). Home ranges vary seasonally from 0.2 to 2 ha (Whitaker and Hamilton, 1998).
Meadow voles feed on the seeds and leafy parts of a wide variety of grasses and sedges as well as the tender bark of trees, fleshy rootstocks, and occasionally insects. The stomach of the Smokemont specimen contained finely chewed vegetation (volume-100%) and pebbles (trace) (Linzey and Linzey, 1973). Meadow voles are known to ingest fecal pellets (coprophagy), in order to increase the efficiency of the digestive system.
Predators and Defense
Snakes, hawks, owls, weasels, foxes, and other carnivorous mammals prey on meadow voles.
Parasites
No records from the park.

Index
Conservation Biology

Special Protection Status
- Rangewide: None.
- In Park: All plants and animals are protected within Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Collection requires a permit which is usually granted only for research or educational purposes.

Index
Links to Other Sites

University of Michigan, Museum of Zoology
eNature

Index
Acknowledgements

Text

Dr. Donald W. Linzey, Wytheville Community College - wclinzd@wcc.vccs.edu
Christy Brecht, Wytheville Community College - wcbrecc@wcc.vccs.edu
Photographs
- Roger Barbour
Map development
- Richard Schulz, Great Smoky Mountains National Park - richard_schulz@nps.gov
Web page design & coding
- Denise Lim, University of Georgia, Athens
- John Pickering, University of Georgia, Athens

Index
References

Linzey, A.V., and D.W. Linzey. 1967. Microtus pennsylvanicus in North Carolina and Tennessee. Journal of Mammalogy 48(2):310.
Linzey, A.V. and D.W. Linzey. 1973. Notes on food of small mammals from Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee-North Carolina. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 89 (1 and 2): 6-14.
Linzey, D. W. 1995a. Mammals of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Blacksburg, Virginia: The McDonald & Woodward Publishing Company, Inc
Linzey, D. W. 1995b. Mammals of Great Smoky Mountains National Park-1995 Update. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 111(1):1-81.
Linzey, D. W. 1998. The Mammals of Virginia. Blacksburg, Virginia: The McDonald & Woodward Publishing Company, Inc.
Reich, L.M. 1981. Microtus pennsylvanicus. Mammalian Species No. 159: 1-8. American Society of Mammalogists.
Tamarin, R.H. 1999. Meadow vole. Pages 641-642. In: D.E. Wilson, and S. Ruff (eds.). The Smithsonian Book of North American Mammals. Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
Whitaker, J. O., Jr. and W. J. Hamilton Jr. 1998. Mammals of the Eastern United States. Ithaca, New York: Comstock Publishing Associates.

Last modified: 8 May, 2002