vole

vole¹

/vohl/, n.

any of several small mouselike or ratlike rodents of the genus Microtus and related genera, having short limbs and a short tail.

[1795-1805; short for volemouse field mouse, perh. < Norw *vollmus, equiv. to voll field (cf. WOLD¹) + mus MOUSE]

vole²

/vohl/, n.

1. Cards. the winning by one player of all the tricks of a deal.

2. go the vole,

a. to venture everything on the chance of great rewards.

b. to try one after another, as a variety of occupations: He went the vole and finally settled on watchmaking.

[1670-80; < F, deriv. of voler to fly < L volare]

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Any burrowing rodent (family Cricetidae) with a blunt snout, small ears, and short limbs.

Most species are herbivorous and are found throughout North America and Eurasia. The approximately 45 species of the genus Microtus, also called meadow mice, are 4–10 in. (10–26 cm) long, including the tail. Their long, shaggy fur is grayish brown. About 10 species of pine voles inhabit swamps, fields, and hardwood forests. Red-backed voles inhabit forests in cold regions. Water voles are found only in Eurasia and usually live near a stream, ditch, or lake.

Meadow vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus).

Judith Myers

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▪ rodent

      any of 124 species of small-bodied mouselike rodents (rodent) of the Northern Hemisphere. Voles have a blunt rather than a tapered muzzle, a tail shorter than the body, and small eyes and ears. Voles live in a wide variety of habitats at elevations ranging from sea level to high mountains. In North America they range from Alaska southward to the mountains of Mexico and Guatemala. In Eurasia they can be found in the British Isles and across Europe and Asia to southern China, Taiwan, and Japan. The only African voles exist as an isolated population in coastal Libya. Habitats exploited by voles include prairies, steppes, semideserts, alpine and subalpine meadows, treeless tundra, and several types of forest, including cloud (cloud forest), deciduous (deciduous forest), and coniferous (coniferous forest).

      The woodland vole (Microtus pinetorum) of the eastern United States is one of the smallest, weighing less than 35 grams (1 ounce) and having a body length up to 10 cm (4 inches) and a tail shorter than 3 cm. The European water vole (Arvicola terrestris) is the largest of the native Eurasian voles, weighing up to 250 grams and having a body up to 22 cm long and a tail up to 13 cm. Depending upon the species, voles' soft, dense fur is generally solid gray, brown, chestnut, or reddish on the upperparts, or reddish brown on the back and gray on the sides. Underparts are paler, ranging from white to gray to brown.

      Voles are active year-round. Some species are nocturnal, some are diurnal, and others are active day and night. Their diet consists of plants and occasionally insects and fungi. Some species in some regions can be agricultural pests. Nearly all voles are terrestrial, traveling through tunnels in grass or beneath snow or via elaborate subsurface burrows. There are, however, some dramatic exceptions. Arboreal red and Sonoma tree voles (Arborimus longicaudus and A. pomo, respectively) are found only in humid coastal old-growth forests of northern California and Oregon, where they live and nest in the tops of Douglas fir, grand fir, and Sitka spruce trees and eat the outer parts of conifer needles (particularly Douglas fir). In mountain meadows of the western United States and Canada, the semiaquatic American water vole (M. richardsoni) dwells close to clear spring-fed or glacial streams and the edges of ponds. They are adept swimmers and divers whose pathways extend along and cross over springs and streams. Their burrow entrances may be at water level or submerged. Their diet consists of roots, rhizomes, and preformed buds of perennials. voles (genus Ellobius) have tiny eyes and ears and the velvety fur common to burrowing rodents. Mole voles live in deep, moist soil of the steppes and dry grasslands of Central Asia, digging elaborate burrows up to 50 cm below ground and eating the underground parts of plants.

Classification

      Voles, along with lemmings (lemming) and muskrats (muskrat), belong to the subfamily Arvicolinae of the mouse family ( Muridae) within the order Rodentia. The 124 species belong to 19 genera.

Genus Microtus (meadow voles)

 61 species.Genus Alticola (mountain voles)

 12 species.Genus Eothenomys (South Asian voles)

 11 species.Genus Clethrionomys (red-backed voles)

 7 speciesGenus Ellobius (mole voles)

 5 species.Genus Volemys (Musser's voles)

 4 species.Genus Arborimus (tree voles)

 3 species.Genus Chinomys (snow voles)

 3 species.Genus Lasiopodomys (Brandt's voles)

 3 species.Genus Arvicola (water voles)

  2 species.Genus Blanfordimys (Afghan voles)

 2 species.Genus Hyperacrius (Kashmir voles)

 2 species.Genus Phaulomys (Japanese voles)

 2 species.Genus Phenacomys (heather voles)

 2 species.Genus Dinaromys (Martino's snow vole)

 1 species.Genus Lemmiscus (sagebrush vole)

 1 species.Genus Proedromys (Duke of Bedford's vole)

 1 species.Genus Prometheomys (long-clawed mole vole)

 1 species.Genus Tyrrhenicola (Tyrrhenian vole)

 1 species.

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