How big does a Northern collared lemming get? Here is an overview over the average adult age:
A grown Northern collared lemming (Dicrostonyx groenlandicus) reaches an average size of 11.7 cm (0′ 5″).
When born, they have an average size of 0 cm (0′ 0″). A full-grown exemplary reaches roughly 58 grams (0.13 lbs). On birth they have a weight of 4 grams (0.01 lbs). Talking about reproduction, Northern collared lemmings have 3 babies about 2 times per year. The Northern collared lemming (genus: Dicrostonyx) 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 northern collared lemming or Nearctic collared lemming (Dicrostonyx groenlandicus), sometimes called the Peary Land collared lemming in Canada, is a small North American lemming. At one time, it was considered to be a subspecies of the Arctic lemming (Dicrostonyx torquatus). Some sources believe several other species of collared lemmings found in North America are actually subspecies of D. groenlandicus.It has a short chunky body covered with thick grey fur with a thin black stripe along its back and light grey underparts. It has small ears, short legs and a very short tail. It has a pale brown collar across its chest. In winter, its fur turns white (believed to be the only rodent to do so), and it has large digging claws on its front feet. It is 14 cm long with a 1.5 cm tail and weighs about 40 g.This animal is found in the tundra of northern Canada, Alaska and Greenland. It feeds on grasses, sedges and other green vegetation in summer, and twigs of willow, aspen and birches in winter. Predators include snowy owls, gulls, wolverines, the Arctic fox and the polar bear.Female lemmings have two or three litters of four to eight young in a year. The young are born in a nest in a burrow or concealed in vegetation.It is active year-round, day and night. It makes runways through the surface vegetation and also digs burrows above the permafrost. It burrows under the snow in winter. Lemming populations go through a three- or four-year cycle of boom and bust. When their population peaks, lemmings disperse from overcrowded areas.
Animals of the same family as a Northern collared lemming
We found other animals of the Muridae family:
- Stephen’s woodrat with a size of 16.1 cm (0′ 7″)
- Akodon sylvanus with a weight of 39 grams
- Meadow vole with a size of 11.8 cm (0′ 5″)
- Natal multimammate mouse with a size of 6 cm (0′ 3″)
- Bushy-tailed jird with 2 babies per litter
- Euryoryzomys russatus with a weight of 60 grams
- Watson’s climbing rat with 2 babies per litter
- Venezuelan climbing mouse with a weight of 89 grams
- Rossel Island melomys with a size of 13.9 cm (0′ 6″)
- Wood lemming with 5 babies per litter
Animals with the same size as a Northern collared lemming
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Northern collared lemming:
- Gray-footed chipmunk with a size of 13.1 cm (0′ 6″)
- Creeping vole with a size of 9.9 cm (0′ 4″)
- Gray mouse lemur with a size of 14 cm (0′ 6″)
- Blind mole with a size of 12 cm (0′ 5″)
- Hylaeamys megacephalus with a size of 12.2 cm (0′ 5″)
- Mozambique thicket rat with a size of 11.6 cm (0′ 5″)
- Papua grassland mosaic-tailed rat with a size of 10.4 cm (0′ 5″)
- Zempoaltepec with a size of 12.5 cm (0′ 5″)
- Eastern mole with a size of 12.5 cm (0′ 5″)
- Singing vole with a size of 11.9 cm (0′ 5″)
Animals with the same litter size as a Northern collared lemming
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (3) as a Northern collared lemming:
- Hispid pocket mouse
- Water deer
- Asian house shrew
- South American coati
- Namaqua dune mole-rat
- Common punaré
- Southern short-tailed shrew
- Bunny rat
- Red river hog
- Cape York rat
Animals with the same weight as a Northern collared lemming
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Dicrostonyx groenlandicus:
- Chelemys megalonyx bringing 50 grams to the scale
- Buffy broad-nosed bat bringing 50 grams to the scale
- Namaqua rock rat bringing 57 grams to the scale
- Great roundleaf bat bringing 50 grams to the scale
- European snow vole bringing 48 grams to the scale
- Handleyomys fuscatus bringing 49 grams to the scale
- Hylaeamys laticeps bringing 49 grams to the scale
- Rupp’s mouse bringing 48 grams to the scale
- Rufous elephant shrew bringing 52 grams to the scale
- Philippine tube-nosed fruit bat bringing 68 grams to the scale