What is the maximal age a Water vole (North America) reaches?
An adult Water vole (North America) (Microtus richardsoni) usually gets as old as 0.75 years.
Water vole (North America)s are around 22 days in the womb of their mother. When born, they weight 5 grams (0.01 lbs) and measure 4.3 cm (0′ 2″). As a member of the Muridae family (genus: Microtus), a Water vole (North America) caries out around 5 little ones per pregnancy, which happens around 2 times a year. Fully grown, they reach a bodylength of 15.4 cm (0′ 7″).
As a reference: Usually, humans get as old as 100 years, with the average being around 75 years. After being carried in the belly of their mother for 280 days (40 weeks), they grow to an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″) and weight in at 62 kg (137 lbs), which is obviously highly individual.
The water vole (Microtus richardsoni) is the largest North American vole. It is found in the northwestern United States and southern parts of western Canada. This animal has been historically considered a member of genus Arvicola, but molecular evidence demonstrates that it is more closely related to North American Microtus species. Water voles are on the USDA Forest Service Region 2 sensitive species list because they maintain very small populations and there is high concern that their required habitat may be declining.These animals have gray-brown or red-brown fur with gray under parts. Their large hind feet help make them excellent swimmers, and they are found in alpine or semi-alpine meadows near water. They feed on grasses, leaves, roots and seeds, also eating small invertebrates. Water voles dig burrows that are connected to water sources, and are considered a semi-aquatic species.They are active year-round, tunneling through snow during the winter. Their burrows often have entrances at the water’s edge or under water, and they usually live in colonies of 8-40 individuals along the waterway.
Animals of the same family as a Water vole (North America)
Not really brothers and sisters, but from the same biological family (Muridae):
- Dalton’s mouse with 5 babies per pregnancy
- Cameroon soft-furred mouse with 3 babies per pregnancy
- Brown deer mouse with 2 babies per pregnancy
- Large vesper mouse with 5 babies per pregnancy
- Ricefield rat with 9 babies per pregnancy
- Arctic lemming becoming 3.75 years old
- Blick’s grass rat bringing the scale to 128 grams
- Tanala tufted-tailed rat bringing the scale to 90 grams
- Mediterranean pine vole with 2 babies per pregnancy
- Biting chinchilla mouse bringing the scale to 82 grams
Animals that reach the same age as Water vole (North America)
With an average age of 0.75 years, Water vole (North America) are in good companionship of the following animals:
- Eligmodontia typus usually reaching 0.75 years
- Anderson’s four-eyed opossum usually reaching 0.75 years
Animals with the same number of babies Water vole (North America)
The same number of babies at once (5) are born by:
- Merriam’s shrew
- Alston’s cotton rat
- Persian jird
- Northwestern deer mouse
- Northwestern deer mouse
- Wyoming ground squirrel
- Yellow ground squirrel
- Southern red-backed vole
- Woosnam’s broad-headed mouse
- Wood lemming
Weighting as much as Water vole (North America)
A fully grown Water vole (North America) reaches around 92 grams (0.2 lbs). So do these animals:
- Merriam’s chipmunk with 74 grams
- Bocage’s mole-rat with 93 grams
- Gray short-tailed opossum with 94 grams
- Mountain pocket gopher with 81 grams
- Red rock rat with 81 grams
- Ansell’s mole-rat with 85 grams
- Arctic lemming with 78 grams
- Peters’s epauletted fruit bat with 95 grams
- Coruro with 101 grams
- Ashy-bellied Oldfield mouse with 77 grams
Animals as big as a Water vole (North America)
Those animals grow as big as a Water vole (North America):
- Hainan gymnure with 13.4 cm (0′ 6″)
- Pocock’s highland rat with 12.8 cm (0′ 6″)
- Tiny tuco-tuco with 15.7 cm (0′ 7″)
- Gambian epauletted fruit bat with 15.6 cm (0′ 7″)
- Lesser tufted-tailed rat with 12.8 cm (0′ 6″)
- Red spiny rat with 16.7 cm (0′ 7″)
- One-striped opossum with 13.7 cm (0′ 6″)
- Bush vlei rat with 15.3 cm (0′ 7″)
- Pale field rat with 15.1 cm (0′ 6″)
- Short-tailed hopping mouse with 14.5 cm (0′ 6″)