prairie vole

LC - Least Concern

N5 - Secure

S3 - Vulnerable

Special Concern

Species in Greatest Conservation Need

The head and body are 3½″ to 5″ long. The coloration does not change in the winter. The coat (pelage) is grayish-brown to dark brown with black-tipped and tawny-tipped hairs, giving it a grizzled appearance. The back is somewhat darker than the sides. The underside is yellowish. The legs and feet are yellowish brown.

The tail is 1″ to 1¾″ long and bicolored.

Head and body: 3½″ to 5″

Tail: 1″ to 1¾″

Prairies, fields, thickets, railroads. Dry areas.

Adults are active mostly during twilight.

Less than one year

Prairie voles are reproductively monogamous but not sexually monogamous. They form pair bonds that last a lifetime, but will mate with other voles if the opportunity arises. Breeding takes place year-round but mostly in the spring and fall. Two to four litters are produced each year. There are usually 3 or 4 offspring per litter though there may be as few as 2 or as many as 7. Gestation lasts 20 to 23 days. The offspring reach sexual maturity at 5 to 6 weeks. Adults usually live less than one year but may live up to two years.

Diet consists mostly of grasses, tubers, roots, seeds, and when available, insects. In the winter they sometimes eat the bark of woody shrubs.

Sources

4, 6, 7, 29, 30, 76.

Prairie vole (M. o. ochrogaster) is found only in southeastern Minnesota.

Least meadow mouse (M. o. minor) is found in the remainder of the state except the northeast.

The genus Microtus was formerly included with Arvicola in the broadly defined tribe Arvicolini based on morphological similarity. Recent molecular genetic analysis showed that the two genera are not “sister taxa.” In 2006, Microtus was moved to the new tribe Microtini that now contains seven other genera, all with rootless, ever growing molars and crown cement.