The water voles are large

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 ...

s in the genus ''Arvicola''. They are found in both aquatic and dry habitat through

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and much of northern

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

. A water vole found in Western

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

was historically considered a member of this genus, but has been shown to be more closely related to members of the genus ''

Microtus ''Microtus'' is a genus of voles found in North America, Europe and northern Asia. The genus name refers to the small ears of these animals. About 62 species are placed in the genus. They are stout rodents with short ears, legs and tails. They ea ...

''. Head and body lengths are 12–22 cm, tail lengths are 6.5–12.5 cm, and their weights are 70–250 g. The animals may exhibit

indeterminate growth In biology and botany, indeterminate growth is growth that is not terminated in contrast to determinate growth that stops once a genetically pre-determined structure has completely formed. Thus, a plant that grows and produces flowers and fruit ...

. They are thick-furred and have hairy fringes on their feet that improve their swimming ability. A 2021 phylogenetic study using

mtDNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA ...

found that ''Arvicola'' may not belong with the rest of its namesake tribe

Arvicolini Arvicolini is a tribe of voles in the subfamily Arvicolinae. A 2021 study found that '' Arvicola'' may not belong in this group, instead being sister to the tribe Lagurini. List of species Tribe Arvicolini *Genus '' Arvicola'' - water voles ** ...

, but rather forms a

sister group In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and t ...

to the tribe

Lagurini Lagurini is a tribe of lemmings in the subfamily Arvicolinae. It contains three species in two genera. Species in this tribe are known as steppe lemmings. It contains the following species: * Genus '' Eolagurus'' ** Yellow steppe lemming, ''E. ...

Species

* European (or northern) water vole (''A. amphibius'' or ''A. terrestris'') * Southwestern (or southern) water vole (''A. sapidus'') *

Montane water vole The montane water vole (''Arvicola scherman'') is a species of vole found throughout Europe, from the mountains of northern Spain through central Europe and eastwards through to central Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country loc ...

(''A. scherman'')

Species

References

Further reading