How big does a Southern red-backed vole get? Here is an overview over the average adult age:
A grown Southern red-backed vole (Clethrionomys gapperi) reaches an average size of 10.1 cm (0′ 4″).
When born, they have an average size of 0 cm (0′ 0″). During their lifetime of about 1.67 years, they grow from 1 grams (0 lbs) to 19 grams (0.04 lbs). Talking about reproduction, Southern red-backed voles have 5 babies about 2 times per year. The Southern red-backed vole (genus: Clethrionomys) is a member of the family Muridae.
As a reference: Humans reach an average body size of 1.65m (5′ 5″) while carrying 62 kg (137 lbs). A human woman is pregnant for 280 days (40 weeks) and on average become 75 years old.
The southern red-backed vole or Gapper’s red-backed vole (Myodes gapperi) is a small slender vole found in Canada and the northern United States. It is closely related to the western red-backed vole (Myodes californius), which lives to the south and west of its range and which is less red with a less sharply bicolored tail.These voles have short slender bodies with a reddish band along the back and a short tail. The sides of the body and head are grey and the underparts are paler. There is a grey color morph in the northeast part of their range. They are 12–16.5 cm (4.7–6.5 in) long with a 4 cm tail and weigh about 6–42 g; average 20.6 g (0.21–1.48 oz; average 0.72 oz).These animals are found in coniferous, deciduous, and mixed forests, often near wetlands. They use runways through the surface growth in warm weather and tunnel through the snow in winter. They are omnivorous feeding on green plants, underground fungi, seeds, nuts, roots, also insects, snails, and berries. They store roots, bulbs, and nuts for later use.Predators include hawks, owls, and mustelids.Female voles have two to four litters of two to eight young in a year.They are active year-round, mostly at night. They use burrows created by other small animals.
Animals of the same family as a Southern red-backed vole
We found other animals of the Muridae family:
- Stolzmann’s crab-eating rat with a weight of 84 grams
- Komodo rat with a size of 16.9 cm (0′ 7″)
- Handleyomys alfaroi with 3 babies per litter
- Dinagat bushy-tailed cloud rat with a size of 26.5 cm (0′ 11″)
- Beady-eyed mouse with a weight of 77 grams
- Crete spiny mouse with a weight of 62 grams
- Winkelmann’s mouse with a weight of 40 grams
- Maned rat with 1 babies per litter
- White-toothed brush mouse with a size of 11.5 cm (0′ 5″)
- Pale leaf-eared mouse with a weight of 102 grams
Animals with the same size as a Southern red-backed vole
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Southern red-backed vole:
- Akodon spegazzinii with a size of 9.9 cm (0′ 4″)
- Woodford’s fruit bat with a size of 8.2 cm (0′ 4″)
- Desert mouse with a size of 8.8 cm (0′ 4″)
- New Holland mouse with a size of 8.2 cm (0′ 4″)
- Panama slender opossum with a size of 11.1 cm (0′ 5″)
- White-tipped Oldfield mouse with a size of 11.4 cm (0′ 5″)
- Mexican spiny pocket mouse with a size of 11.5 cm (0′ 5″)
- Gray spiny mouse with a size of 8.4 cm (0′ 4″)
- Japanese mountain mole with a size of 9 cm (0′ 4″)
- One-toothed shrew mouse with a size of 9 cm (0′ 4″)
Animals with the same litter size as a Southern red-backed vole
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (5) as a Southern red-backed vole:
- Uinta ground squirrel
- Meadow vole
- Tate’s woolly mouse opossum
- Middendorf’s vole
- Pilbara ningaui
- Northern short-tailed shrew
- Wood mouse
- Northern red-backed vole
- Arctic hare
- Pale field rat
Animals with the same life expectancy as a Southern red-backed vole
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Southern red-backed vole:
- Ningbing false antechinus with an average maximal age of 2 years
- Slender-tailed dunnart with an average maximal age of 2 years
- American water shrew with an average maximal age of 1.5 years
- Himalayan mole with an average maximal age of 1.5 years
- Grant’s golden mole with an average maximal age of 2 years
- Montane shrew with an average maximal age of 1.33 years
- Malabar spiny dormouse with an average maximal age of 1.67 years
- North American least shrew with an average maximal age of 1.75 years
- Honey possum with an average maximal age of 2 years
- Long-tailed giant rat with an average maximal age of 2 years
Animals with the same weight as a Southern red-backed vole
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Clethrionomys gapperi:
- Colombian forest mouse bringing 19 grams to the scale
- Allen’s wood mouse bringing 20 grams to the scale
- Japanese shrew mole bringing 18 grams to the scale
- Louise’s spiny mouse bringing 20 grams to the scale
- Sonoran harvest mouse bringing 20 grams to the scale
- Eloquent horseshoe bat bringing 19 grams to the scale
- Pygmy rock mouse bringing 20 grams to the scale
- San Diego pocket mouse bringing 19 grams to the scale
- Santa Cruz mouse bringing 21 grams to the scale
- Southern red-backed vole bringing 19 grams to the scale