It is hard to guess what a European water vole weights. But we have the answer:
An adult European water vole (Arvicola amphibius) on average weights 120 grams (0.26 lbs).
The European water vole is from the family Cricetidae (genus: Arvicola). It is usually born with about 5 grams (0.01 lbs). They can live for up to 5 years. When reaching adult age, they grow up to 19.3 cm (0′ 8″). On average, European water voles can have babies 3 times per year with a litter size of 4.
As a reference: An average human weights in at 62 kg (137 lbs) and reaches an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). Humans spend 280 days (40 weeks) in the womb of their mother and reach around 75 years of age.
The European water vole or northern water vole (Arvicola amphibius, included in synonymy: A. terrestris), is a semi-aquatic rodent. It is often informally called the water rat, though it only superficially resembles a true rat. Water voles have rounder noses than rats, deep brown fur, chubby faces and short fuzzy ears; unlike rats their tails, paws and ears are covered with hair.In the wild, on average, water voles only live about five months. Maximum longevity in captivity is two and a half years.
Animals of the same family as a European water vole
We found other animals of the Cricetidae family:
- Abrothrix illuteus with a weight of 47 grams
- Lesser Wilfred’s mouse with a weight of 22 grams
- Grey red-backed vole with a weight of 36 grams
- Handleyomys intectus with a weight of 60 grams
- Hylaeamys megacephalus with a weight of 57 grams
- Hylaeamys laticeps with a weight of 49 grams
- Northern grass mouse with a weight of 44 grams
- Bank vole with a weight of 20 grams
- Buenos Aires leaf-eared mouse with a weight of 42 grams
- Northern red-backed vole with a weight of 19 grams
Animals with the same weight as a European water vole
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Arvicola amphibius:
- Pará spiny tree-rat bringing 108 grams to the scale
- Franquet’s epauletted fruit bat bringing 119 grams to the scale
- Tuft-tailed spiny tree-rat bringing 138 grams to the scale
- Fringe-tailed gerbil bringing 96 grams to the scale
- Romanian hamster bringing 97 grams to the scale
- Shaw Mayer’s brush mouse bringing 111 grams to the scale
- Daurian pika bringing 131 grams to the scale
- Island tube-nosed fruit bat bringing 107 grams to the scale
- Guinean gerbil bringing 102 grams to the scale
- Indian gerbil bringing 138 grams to the scale
Animals with the same size as a European water vole
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as European water vole:
- White-tailed antsangy with a size of 22.5 cm (0′ 9″)
- Narrow-striped marsupial shrew with a size of 16.3 cm (0′ 7″)
- Tiny tuco-tuco with a size of 15.7 cm (0′ 7″)
- Lesser hedgehog tenrec with a size of 16 cm (0′ 7″)
- Red squirrel with a size of 21.3 cm (0′ 9″)
- Brandt’s hedgehog with a size of 20.7 cm (0′ 9″)
- Tsing-ling pika with a size of 15.6 cm (0′ 7″)
- Alpine pika with a size of 17.5 cm (0′ 7″)
- Cape York rat with a size of 18.9 cm (0′ 8″)
- Philippine forest rat with a size of 19 cm (0′ 8″)
Animals with the same litter size as a European water vole
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (4) as a European water vole:
- Himalayan shrew
- Rudd’s mouse
- Plateau pika
- Kellen’s dormouse
- Dsinezumi shrew
- Wolf
- White-tailed jackrabbit
- Dhole
- California vole
- Brown four-eyed opossum
Animals with the same life expectancy as a European water vole
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a European water vole:
- Giant golden mole with an average maximal age of 4 years
- Bridled nail-tail wallaby with an average maximal age of 5 years
- Numbat with an average maximal age of 6 years
- Desert hedgehog with an average maximal age of 4.5 years
- Pyrenean desman with an average maximal age of 5 years
- Greater grison with an average maximal age of 5.25 years
- Otter civet with an average maximal age of 5 years
- Brown four-eyed opossum with an average maximal age of 4 years
- Paucident planigale with an average maximal age of 5 years
- Spinifex hopping mouse with an average maximal age of 5.17 years