It is hard to guess what a Western heather vole weights. But we have the answer:
An adult Western heather vole (Phenacomys intermedius) on average weights 25 grams (0.06 lbs).
The Western heather vole is from the family Muridae (genus: Phenacomys). It is usually born with about 2 grams (0 lbs). When reaching adult age, they grow up to 10.7 cm (0′ 5″). On average, Western heather 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 western heather vole (Phenacomys intermedius) is a small vole found in western North America. Until recently, the eastern heather vole, (Phenacomys ungava), was considered to be a subspecies.These animals are similar in appearance to the meadow vole. They have short ears and a short thin tail which is paler underneath. Their long soft fur is brownish with silver grey underparts. They are 14 cm long with a 3.5 cm tail and weigh about 40 g.They are found in alpine meadows, open shrubby areas, dry forests with shrubs below to provide cover and tundra regions, usually near water, in British Columbia, the Yukon and the western United States. In summer, they live in burrows and, in winter, they tunnel under the snow. They store food for later use year-round.They feed on plant leaves and berries in summer and plant bark and buds in winter, also seeds and fungi. Predators include owls, hawks and carnivorous mammals.The female vole has 2 or 3 litters of 2 to 9 young in a nest made from grasses.They are active year-round, and are crepuscular.The population of this animal has been reduced in some parts of its range because of clearcutting of forests.
Animals of the same family as a Western heather vole
We found other animals of the Muridae family:
- Afghan vole with 2 babies per litter
- Greater mole-rat with a weight of 470 grams
- Miller’s striped mouse with a weight of 49 grams
- Golden Oldfield mouse with a weight of 88 grams
- Big deer mouse with a weight of 71 grams
- Broad-toothed mouse with a weight of 125 grams
- Single-striped grass mouse with a weight of 50 grams
- Mira climbing rat with a weight of 184 grams
- Blackish grass mouse with a weight of 19 grams
- Moss-forest rat with a weight of 45 grams
Animals with the same weight as a Western heather vole
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Phenacomys intermedius:
- Hazel dormouse bringing 29 grams to the scale
- Lesser Egyptian gerbil bringing 27 grams to the scale
- Moss-forest blossom bat bringing 20 grams to the scale
- Flat-haired mouse bringing 29 grams to the scale
- Eva’s desert mouse bringing 21 grams to the scale
- Common noctule bringing 28 grams to the scale
- Akodon boliviensis bringing 27 grams to the scale
- Northern grasshopper mouse bringing 27 grams to the scale
- European free-tailed bat bringing 28 grams to the scale
- Veldkamp’s dwarf epauletted fruit bat bringing 21 grams to the scale
Animals with the same size as a Western heather vole
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Western heather vole:
- Texas kangaroo rat with a size of 11.9 cm (0′ 5″)
- Altiplano grass mouse with a size of 9.7 cm (0′ 4″)
- Pyrenean desman with a size of 12.5 cm (0′ 5″)
- Smoky mouse with a size of 11.3 cm (0′ 5″)
- Akodon spegazzinii with a size of 9.9 cm (0′ 4″)
- Northern red-backed vole with a size of 10.9 cm (0′ 5″)
- Common vole with a size of 11.4 cm (0′ 5″)
- Namib brush-tailed gerbil with a size of 10.5 cm (0′ 5″)
- Mexican deer mouse with a size of 12.4 cm (0′ 5″)
- Robert’s hocicudo with a size of 10 cm (0′ 4″)
Animals with the same litter size as a Western heather vole
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (4) as a Western heather vole: