How many baby Southwestern water voles are in a litter?
A Southwestern water vole (Arvicola sapidus) usually gives birth to around 3 babies.
Upon birth, they weight 4 grams (0.01 lbs) and measure 5.8 cm (0′ 3″). They are a member of the Muridae family (genus: Arvicola). An adult Southwestern water vole grows up to a size of 9.5 cm (0′ 4″).
To have a reference: Humans obviously usually have a litter size of one ;). Their babies are in the womb of their mother for 280 days (40 weeks) and reach an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). They weight in at 62 kg (137 lbs), which is obviously highly individual, and reach an average age of 75 years.
The southwestern water vole (Arvicola sapidus), also called southern water vole, is a large amphibious vole native to most of France and south-westwards through Spain and Portugal. It is listed on the IUCN Red List as vulnerable. Although historically considered to be a member of the same species as the European water vole, Musser and Carleton (2005) considered it distinct enough to warrant full species status. It is threatened for many of the same reasons as the northern water vole, and a campaign is currently underway to seek protection for the species, both at a national level and at European Union level.It was traditionally one of the main ingredients in the Valencian dish called paella.
Other animals of the family Muridae
Southwestern water vole is a member of the Muridae, as are these animals:
- Bushveld gerbil with 4 babies per pregnancy
- Arctic lemming with 3 babies per pregnancy
- Arizona woodrat weighting only 200 grams
- Mindomys weighting only 60 grams
- Broad-toothed mouse with 2 babies per pregnancy
- Western chestnut mouse with 3 babies per pregnancy
- Bryant’s woodrat weighting only 182 grams
- Lesser small-toothed rat raching a size of 15.8 cm (0′ 7″)
- Typical striped grass mouse with 4 babies per pregnancy
- Earless water rat with 1 babies per pregnancy
Animals that share a litter size with Southwestern water vole
Those animals also give birth to 3 babies at once:
- Cameroon soft-furred mouse
- Middle East blind mole-rat
- Western red-backed vole
- Severtzov’s jerboa
- Fat-tailed gerbil
- Taiwanese brown-toothed shrew
- Asiatic long-tailed climbing mouse
- Capybara
- Kinabalu squirrel
- Kashmir flying squirrel
Animals that get as old as a Southwestern water vole
Other animals that usually reach the age of 3.5 years:
- Northern quoll with 2.83 years
- Dibbler with 3 years
- African pygmy mouse with 3.08 years
- Great gerbil with 4 years
- Ooldea dunnart with 3 years
- African wading rat with 3 years
- Narrow-nosed planigale with 3 years
- Japanese mole with 3.5 years
- Talas tuco-tuco with 3 years
- Greater white-toothed shrew with 3.17 years
Animals with the same weight as a Southwestern water vole
What other animals weight around 220 grams (0.49 lbs)?
- Plantain squirrel weighting 210 grams
- Southeastern pocket gopher weighting 201 grams
- Dwarf scaly-tailed squirrel weighting 250 grams
- Banks flying fox weighting 210 grams
- Ochre mole-rat weighting 200 grams
- Middle East blind mole-rat weighting 180 grams
- Strong tuco-tuco weighting 233 grams
- Halmahera naked-backed fruit bat weighting 218 grams
- Nectomys squamipes weighting 185 grams
- Four-striped ground squirrel weighting 180 grams