How big does a Taiga vole get? Here is an overview over the average adult age:
A grown Taiga vole (Microtus xanthognathus) reaches an average size of 15.6 cm (0′ 7″).
When born, they have an average size of 0 cm (0′ 0″). A full-grown exemplary reaches roughly 92 grams (0.2 lbs). On birth they have a weight of 3 grams (0.01 lbs). Talking about reproduction, Taiga voles have 8 babies about 2 times per year. The Taiga vole (genus: Microtus) 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 taiga vole (Microtus xanthognathus) is a large vole found in northwestern North America, including Alaska and northwestern Canada. The name “taiga vole” comes from its living in the boreal taiga zone. It is also sometimes called the yellow-cheeked vole or chestnut-cheeked vole because of the rusty-yellow color on its face around its vibrisae (whiskers); The taiga voles derive their name from these features: “xantho” is Greek for yellow and “gnathus” is Greek for jaw. It is typically much larger than most other North American voles, especially those from the genus Microtus.An adult taiga vole, excluding tail length, usually ranges from 186–226 mm (7.3–8.9 in) in length and usually weighs 140–170 g (4.9–6.0 oz).This species is found in northern forests near water or bogs. It makes runways through the surface growth and burrows. It is usually found in colonies. It feeds on grasses, lichens, horsetails and berries. It stores food in its burrows for the winter. Like the singing vole, this animal may give a warning call to alert other members of the colony of danger.The female vole has litters of 7 to 10 young. The vole population in a given area can vary greatly from year to year.They are active year-round, usually during dark periods.Although not commonly encountered, they can be locally abundant.The taiga vole is from the order Rodentia and the family Muridae.
Animals of the same family as a Taiga vole
We found other animals of the Muridae family:
- Morgan’s gerbil mouse with a weight of 16 grams
- Friendly leaf-eared mouse with a weight of 20 grams
- Acacia rat with 3 babies per litter
- California red tree mouse with a size of 9.9 cm (0′ 4″)
- Dusky-footed woodrat with a size of 20.8 cm (0′ 9″)
- Dalton’s mouse with 5 babies per litter
- Colombian forest mouse with a weight of 19 grams
- Guinean gerbil with a weight of 102 grams
- Crete spiny mouse with a weight of 62 grams
- Mozambique thicket rat with a size of 11.6 cm (0′ 5″)
Animals with the same size as a Taiga vole
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Taiga vole:
- California chipmunk with a size of 12.8 cm (0′ 6″)
- Luzon striped rat with a size of 17.3 cm (0′ 7″)
- Knox Jones’s pocket gopher with a size of 15.4 cm (0′ 7″)
- Père David’s mole with a size of 14 cm (0′ 6″)
- Dollman’s melomys with a size of 13.1 cm (0′ 6″)
- Gray-footed chipmunk with a size of 13.1 cm (0′ 6″)
- Ruddy treeshrew with a size of 18.5 cm (0′ 8″)
- Franquet’s epauletted fruit bat with a size of 13.5 cm (0′ 6″)
- Short-tailed gymnure with a size of 13.2 cm (0′ 6″)
- Lady Burton’s rope squirrel with a size of 15.7 cm (0′ 7″)
Animals with the same litter size as a Taiga vole
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (8) as a Taiga vole:
- Yellow-footed antechinus
- European polecat
- White-tailed antelope squirrel
- Townsend’s ground squirrel
- Southern long-nosed armadillo
- Eurasian least shrew
- Chestnut dunnart
- White-bellied woolly mouse opossum
- San Joaquin antelope squirrel
- Narrow-headed vole
Animals with the same weight as a Taiga vole
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Microtus xanthognathus:
- Lady Burton’s rope squirrel bringing 109 grams to the scale
- Ansell’s mole-rat bringing 85 grams to the scale
- Inca Oldfield mouse bringing 77 grams to the scale
- White-bellied woolly mouse opossum bringing 93 grams to the scale
- Golden hamster bringing 98 grams to the scale
- Northern pocket gopher bringing 105 grams to the scale
- Petter’s tufted-tailed rat bringing 75 grams to the scale
- African grass rat bringing 95 grams to the scale
- Big-eared hopping mouse bringing 89 grams to the scale
- Aegialomys xanthaeolus bringing 79 grams to the scale