It is hard to guess what a Taiga vole weights. But we have the answer:
An adult Taiga vole (Microtus xanthognathus) on average weights 92 grams (0.2 lbs).
The Taiga vole is from the family Muridae (genus: Microtus). It is usually born with about 3 grams (0.01 lbs). When reaching adult age, they grow up to 15.6 cm (0′ 7″). On average, Taiga voles can have babies 2 times per year with a litter size of 8.
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 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:
- Large vlei rat with a weight of 192 grams
- Cursor grass mouse with a weight of 39 grams
- Fat mouse with a weight of 34 grams
- Harrington’s rat with a weight of 90 grams
- Oligoryzomys nigripes with a weight of 34 grams
- Unalaska collared lemming with 2 babies per litter
- Shaw Mayer’s brush mouse with a weight of 111 grams
- Andean leaf-eared mouse with a weight of 53 grams
- Malayan tree rat with 2 babies per litter
- Asiatic long-tailed climbing mouse with 3 babies per litter
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:
- Bunny rat bringing 79 grams to the scale
- Big bonneted bat bringing 83 grams to the scale
- Pallid Atlantic Forest rat bringing 90 grams to the scale
- Plains viscacha rat bringing 86 grams to the scale
- Allen’s chipmunk bringing 89 grams to the scale
- Nelson’s kangaroo rat bringing 87 grams to the scale
- Long-tailed mountain rat bringing 79 grams to the scale
- Lesser naked-backed fruit bat bringing 85 grams to the scale
- White-bellied mosaic-tailed rat bringing 104 grams to the scale
- California kangaroo rat bringing 85 grams to the scale
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:
- Desert hedgehog with a size of 18.1 cm (0′ 8″)
- Desert woodrat with a size of 16.3 cm (0′ 7″)
- Talazac’s shrew tenrec with a size of 15 cm (0′ 6″)
- Kimberley rock rat with a size of 14.6 cm (0′ 6″)
- Low’s squirrel with a size of 13.7 cm (0′ 6″)
- Web-footed tenrec with a size of 14.5 cm (0′ 6″)
- Rough-haired golden mole with a size of 15 cm (0′ 6″)
- Egyptian fruit bat with a size of 16.7 cm (0′ 7″)
- Asian house shrew with a size of 12.6 cm (0′ 5″)
- Narrow-faced kangaroo rat with a size of 12.6 cm (0′ 5″)
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: