Red-backed voles are small, slender

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 lo ...

s of the genus ''Clethrionomys'' found in North America,

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 subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

, and

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 are ...

. In recent years the genus name was changed to ''Myodes'', however a 2019 paper found that ''Myodes'' was actually a junior synonym for '' Lemmus'', thus making it unusable. As such, ''Clethrionomys'' is re-established as the proper genus name. Red-backed voles inhabit northern forests,

tundra In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless mou ...

and bogs. They feed on shrubs, berries and roots. Most species have reddish brown fur on their back. They have small eyes and ears. Unlike other voles, the

molar teeth The molars or molar teeth are large, flat teeth at the back of the mouth. They are more developed in mammals. They are used primarily to grind food during chewing. The name ''molar'' derives from Latin, ''molaris dens'', meaning "millstone t ...

are rooted in adults. The complete list of species is: * Japanese red-backed vole, ''Clethrionomys andersoni'' *

Western red-backed vole The western red-backed vole (''Myodes californicus'') is a species of vole in the family Cricetidae. It is found in California and Oregon in the United States and lives mainly in coniferous forest. The body color is chestnut brown, or brown mixed ...

, ''Clethrionomys californicus'' * Tien Shan red-backed vole, ''Clethrionomys centralis'' * Southern red-backed vole, ''Clethrionomys gapperi'' * Bank vole, ''Clethrionomys glareolus'' * Imaizumi's red-backed vole, ''Clethrionomys imaizumii'' * Korean red-backed vole, ''Clethrionomys regulus'' * Hokkaido red-backed vole, ''Clethrionomys rex'' *

Grey red-backed vole The grey red-backed vole or the grey-sided vole (''Myodes rufocanus'') is a species of vole. An adult grey red-backed vole weighs 20-50 grams. This species ranges across northern Eurasia, including northern China, the northern Korean Peni ...

, ''Clethrionomys rufocanus'' *

Northern red-backed vole The northern red-backed vole (''Myodes rutilus'') is a small slender vole found in Alaska, northern Canada, Scandinavia and northern Russia.Banfield, A. W. F. 1974. The mammals of Canada. Toronto, University of Toronto Press. Description They h ...

, ''Clethrionomys rutilus'' * Shansei vole, ''Clethrionomys shanseius'' * Smith's vole, ''Clethrionomys smithii''

References

External links

* Myodes Extant Piacenzian first appearances {{Arvicolinae-stub