It is hard to guess what a Southwestern water vole weights. But we have the answer:
An adult Southwestern water vole (Arvicola sapidus) on average weights 220 grams (0.49 lbs).
The Southwestern water vole is from the family Muridae (genus: Arvicola). They can live for up to 3.5 years. When reaching adult age, they grow up to 5.5 cm (0′ 3″). Usually, Southwestern water voles have 3 babies per litter.
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 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.
Animals of the same family as a Southwestern water vole
We found other animals of the Muridae family:
- Southern African spiny mouse with a weight of 26 grams
- Bartels’s spiny rat with a weight of 88 grams
- Darling Downs hopping mouse with a weight of 89 grams
- Small Luzon forest mouse with a weight of 35 grams
- Mamore arboreal rice rat with a weight of 62 grams
- Red hocicudo with a weight of 82 grams
- Chiapan deer mouse with a weight of 40 grams
- Unalaska collared lemming with 2 babies per litter
- Sooretamys with a weight of 100 grams
- Lesser Egyptian gerbil with a weight of 27 grams
Animals with the same weight as a Southwestern water vole
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Arvicola sapidus:
- Robust tuco-tuco bringing 249 grams to the scale
- Asian red-cheeked squirrel bringing 201 grams to the scale
- Argentine tuco-tuco bringing 221 grams to the scale
- Japanese squirrel bringing 264 grams to the scale
- Arizona woodrat bringing 200 grams to the scale
- Arizona cotton rat bringing 198 grams to the scale
- Large treeshrew bringing 182 grams to the scale
- Kintampo rope squirrel bringing 186 grams to the scale
- Plains pocket gopher bringing 179 grams to the scale
- Bolaños woodrat bringing 198 grams to the scale
Animals with the same litter size as a Southwestern water vole
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (3) as a Southwestern water vole:
- Red-nosed mouse
- Pampas fox
- Broad-striped dasyure
- Cape gerbil
- Numbat
- Black-tailed dasyure
- Zacatecan deer mouse
- Eastern woodrat
- Desmarest’s spiny pocket mouse
- Lesser dwarf shrew
Animals with the same life expectancy as a Southwestern water vole
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Southwestern water vole:
- Monito del monte with an average maximal age of 3.17 years
- Little long-tailed dunnart with an average maximal age of 3.17 years
- Alpine pika with an average maximal age of 3 years
- Sand-colored soft-furred rat with an average maximal age of 4 years
- Northern brown bandicoot with an average maximal age of 3 years
- Brown antechinus with an average maximal age of 3 years
- Gray four-eyed opossum with an average maximal age of 3.5 years
- Steppe pika with an average maximal age of 4 years
- Raffray’s bandicoot with an average maximal age of 3.25 years
- Yellow-footed antechinus with an average maximal age of 3.5 years