The reed vole (''Alexandromys fortis'') is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

vole Voles are small rodents that are relatives of lemmings and hamsters, but with a stouter body; a longer, hairy tail; a slightly rounder head; smaller eyes and ears; and differently formed molars (high-crowned with angular cusps instead of low-c ...

. It is found in northern and central

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...

, including northern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and the

Korean Peninsula Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. This species is somewhat larger and longer-tailed than most other voles.

Description

The reed vole is one of the largest voles in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Alexandromys ''Alexandromys'' is a genus of voles in the subfamily Arvicolinae, formerly a subgenus of the genus ''Microtus''. Species in this genus are: * Alpine vole (''Alexandromys alpinus'') * Evorsk vole (''Alexandromys evoronensis'') *Reed vole (''Alex ...

''. Adults grow to a head-and-body length of with a tail of . The fur on the back is dark tawny-brown and the flanks are buffish brown, blending gradually into the greyish underparts. The upper side of the feet are light brown and the tail is bicoloured, the upper side being dark brown and the underside whitish.

Distribution

The reed vole is native to eastern Asia. Its range includes the Trans-Baikal region of Russia, the

Amur River The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's List of longest rivers, tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China, Northeastern China (Inne ...

Basin, northeastern Mongolia, eastern China and North and South Korea. Its typical habitat is

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslands, ...

and

forest steppe A forest steppe is a temperate-climate ecotone and habitat type composed of grassland interspersed with areas of woodland or forest. Locations Forest steppe primarily occurs in a belt of forest steppes across northern Eurasia from the eastern ...

where it is found near lakes and watercourses, among coarse vegetation and in

wet meadow A wet meadow is a type of wetland with soils that are saturated for part or all of the growing season. Debate exists whether a wet meadow is a type of marsh or a completely separate type of wetland. Wet prairies and wet savannas are hydrologically ...

s and marshes. It may move into adjoining agricultural or vacant land when its habitat is flooded as sometimes happens in spring and summer, but seldom travels more than and returns to its waterside haunts when the flooding subsides. Its maximum altitude is about above sea level.

Behaviour

The reed vole is active both by day and night. It moves rather slowly on land but is an excellent swimmer. In well-drained soil, it digs fairly complex burrows with side passages, nesting chambers, storage rooms and multiple entrances; its passages can extend to . In particularly wet environments the burrows may be shallow or mere ruts on the surface of the ground. Close to lakes and watercourses, spherical nests up to in diameter are sometimes built hidden in thick vegetation, several nests sometimes occurring close to each other with well-worn paths between them. In the spring and summer, reed voles mainly eat shoots and leaves, as well as the stems of grasses. In the autumn they gather grain and pieces of grass and store them in their burrows and at this time of year they also feed on bark, roots and the pith of reeds but leaves seem to be their favourite food. Breeding takes place between April and November. In favourable conditions there may be six litters during the season, each consisting of about five offspring. The gestation period is about twenty days with females becoming sexually mature by about four months and males at a slightly older age.

Status

The reed vole is a common species over much of its wide range and no particular threats have been identified, so the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has assessed its conservation status as being of "

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q620783 Mammals of Asia Alexandromys Mammals described in 1889