European water vole: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the European water vole lives – recorded in 13 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Arvicola amphibius
Group	Mice, rats & other rodents
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	13 countries
Continents	Europe
Class	Mammal
Order	Rodentia
Family	Cricetidae

Where does the European water vole live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the European water vole in 13 countries and territories across Europe.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the European water vole endangered?

The European water vole’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the European water vole?

The European water vole (Arvicola amphibius) is a mammal in the order Rodentia and the family Cricetidae, genus Arvicola. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the European water vole

The European water vole (Arvicola amphibius) or northern water vole is a semi-aquatic rodent. It is often informally called the water rat, though it only superficially resembles a true rat. Water voles have rounder noses than rats, deep brown fur, chubby faces, and short fuzzy ears; unlike rats, their tails, paws, and ears are covered with hair.

In the wild, on average, water voles only live about five months. Maximum longevity in captivity is two and a half years.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article European water vole (revision 1354008595), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q27016 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).