PBDB Taxon

Basic info	Taxonomic history	Classification	Included Taxa
Morphology	Ecology and taphonomy	External Literature Search	Age range and collections

Microtus (vole)

Mammalia - Rodentia - Cricetidae

Taxonomy

Microtus was named by Schrank (1798). It is extant. Its type is Mus arvalis. It is the type genus of Microtinae.

It was assigned to Muridae by Schultz and Howard (1935); to Microtinae by Hay (1902) and Kurten and Anderson (1980); to Arvicolidae by Shoshani et al. (1989); to Cricetidae by Schrank (1798), Wilson (1967) and McKenna and Bell (1997); to Arvicolinae by Czaplewski et al. (2002) and Seymour (2004); and to Arvicolini by Galewski et al. (2006).

Species

Arvicola didelta, Arvicola involuta, M. (Stenocranius), M. (Tyrrhenicola), M. agrestis, M. arvalis, M. australis, M. brecciensis (syn. M. mediterraneus), M. bucharicus, M. californicus (syn. M. scirpensis, Arvicola edax, Arvicola trowbridgii), M. chrotorrhinus, M. drummondi, M. duodecimcostatus, M. eleniae, M. epimticeps, M. guatemalensis, M. guentheri, M. guildayi (syn. M. involutus, Arvicola speothen, Arvicola tetradelta, Arvicola sigmodus), M. hibbardi, M. irene, M. kikuchii, M. leucurus, M. llanensis, M. longicaudus (syn. Arvicola leucophaeus, M. cautus, M. angusticeps, Arvicola alticolus, Arvicola mordax, M. macrurus, M. vellerosus), M. mandarinus, M. meadensis, M. mexicanus (syn. M. fulviventer, Arvicola phaeus, Arvicola mogollonensis), M. middendorffi, M. miguelensis, M. miurus, M. montanus (syn. M. nevadensis, M. dutcheri, Arvicola nanus, Arvicola longirostris), M. morlani, M. oaxacensis, M. ochrogaster, M. oeconomus, M. paroperarius, M. pennsylvanicus (syn. Arvicola riparius), M. pinetorum, M. quasiater, M. richardsoni, M. rossiaemeridionalis, M. umbrosus, M. xanthognathus, Pitymys aratai, Pitymys cumberlandensis, Pitymys mcnowni, Pitymys nemoralis, Pitymys parvulus

Species lacking formal opinion data

M. arvalissocialis, M. burgondiae, M. dentatus, M. fatioi, M. gregalis, M. gregaloides, M. hintoni, M. mongolicus, M. nivalis, M. nivalis, M. nivaloides, M. ratticeps, M. ruffoi, M. rufoi, M. savii, M. savii, M. subterraneus, M. subterraneus

Synonyms

Neodon is a genus.

It was synonymized subjectively with Microtus by Galewski et al. (2006).
Blanfordimys was named by Argyropulo (1933). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Microtus by Galewski et al. (2006).
Pedomys was named by Baird (1858).

It was synonymized subjectively with Pitymys by Martin (1974), Barnosky and Rasmussen (1988), Repenning and Grady (1988) and Dalquest and Schultz (1992); it was reranked as Microtus (Pedomys) by van der Meulen (1978); it was synonymized subjectively with Microtus by Martin (1987), Martin (1993), Martin (1995) and Bell and Bever (2006).

It was assigned to Microtus by van der Meulen (1978); and to Cricetidae by Baird (1858), Pfaff (1990), Repenning (1992), Morgan and White (1995) and McKenna and Bell (1997).
Pitymys was named by McMurtrie (1831). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Microtus by Martin (1987), Martin (1993), Martin (1995) and Bell and Bever (2006).

It was assigned to Cricetidae by McMurtrie (1831), Miller (1912), Wilson (1967), Martin (1974), Repenning (1983), Zakrzewski (1985), Barnosky and Rasmussen (1988), Repenning and Grady (1988), Pfaff (1990), Morgan and White (1995) and McKenna and Bell (1997).
Terricola was named by Fatio (1867). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Microtus by Bell and Bever (2006).

It was assigned to Cricetidae by Fatio (1867) and McKenna and Bell (1997).
Arvicola didelta was named by Cope (1871). Its type specimen is Amer. Mus. of Nat. Hist. No. 8694, a mandible (possibly a maxilla), and it is a 3D body fossil.

It was recombined as Microtus didelta by Cope (1896) and Hay (1902); it was recombined as Microtus dideltus by Cope (1899); it was synonymized subjectively with Pedomys dideltus by Hibbard (1955); it was recombined as Pitymys dideltus by Martin (1974); it was synonymized subjectively with Microtus guildayi by Kurten and Anderson (1980); it was considered a nomen dubium by Martin (1987).
Arvicola involuta was named by Cope (1871). Its type specimen is Amer. Mus. of Nat. Hist. No. 8699a, a mandible (mandible with m1-m3), and it is a 3D body fossil.

It was synonymized subjectively with Pedomys dideltus by Hibbard (1955); it was recombined as Pitymys involutus by Martin (1974); it was synonymized subjectively with Microtus guildayi by Kurten and Anderson (1980); it was considered a nomen dubium by Martin (1987).
Phaiomys was named by Blyth (1863) [type a Tibetan species].

It was synonymized subjectively with Microtus by Martin (1987) and Galewski et al. (2006).

Synonymy list

Year	Name and author
1798	Microtus Schrank
1831	Pitymys McMurtrie
1858	Pedomys Baird
1863	Phaiomys Blyth
1867	Terricola Fatio
1871	Arvicola didelta Cope
1871	Arvicola involuta Cope
1871	Arvicola didelta Cope p. 89
1896	Microtus didelta Cope
1899	Microtus dideltus Cope
1902	Microtus Hay p. 728
1902	Microtus didelta Hay p. 728
1912	Pitymys Miller
1933	Blanfordimys Argyropulo
1935	Microtus Schultz and Howard p. 282
1967	Microtus Wilson p. 210
1967	Pitymys Wilson p. 210
1974	Pitymys Martin
1974	Pitymys dideltus Martin
1974	Pitymys involutus Martin
1978	Microtus (Pedomys) van der Meulen
1980	Microtus Kurten and Anderson p. 258
1983	Pitymys Repenning
1985	Pitymys Zakrzewski
1988	Pitymys Barnosky and Rasmussen
1988	Pitymys Repenning and Grady
1989	Microtus Shoshani et al. p. 436
1990	Pedomys Pfaff
1990	Pitymys Pfaff
1992	Pedomys Repenning
1995	Pedomys Morgan and White
1995	Pitymys Morgan and White
1997	Microtus McKenna and Bell
1997	Pedomys McKenna and Bell
1997	Pitymys McKenna and Bell
1997	Terricola McKenna and Bell
2002	Microtus Czaplewski et al. p. 102
2004	Microtus Seymour
2006	Microtus Galewski et al.

Is something missing? Join the Paleobiology Database and enter the data

Rank	Name	Author
kingdom	Animalia	()
—	Bilateria
—	Eubilateria	Ax 1987
—	Deuterostomia
phylum	Chordata	Haeckel 1874
subphylum	Vertebrata
superclass	Gnathostomata
—	Osteichthyes	()
subclass	Sarcopterygii	()
subclass	Dipnotetrapodomorpha	(Nelson 2006)
subclass	Tetrapodomorpha	()
—	Tetrapoda
—	Reptiliomorpha
—	Anthracosauria
subclass	Amphibiosauria	Kuhn 1967
—	Cotylosauria	()
—	Amniota
subclass	Synapsida
—	Therapsida	()
infraorder	Cynodontia	()

Rank	Name	Author
—	Mammaliamorpha
—	Mammaliaformes
class	Mammalia
—	Cladotheria
—	Zatheria
subclass	Tribosphenida	()
subclass	Theria
—	Eutheria	()
—	Placentalia
—	Boreoeutheria
—	Euarchontoglires	Murphy et al. 2001
—	Gliriformes	Wyss and Meng 1996
—	Glires	()
—	Simplicidentata	()
order	Rodentia	Bowdich 1821
family	Cricetidae	Fischer von Waldheim 1817
subfamily	Arvicolinae	()
tribe	Arvicolini	Giebel 1855
genus	Microtus	Schrank 1798

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

G. Microtus Schrank 1798 [vole]

show all | hide all

Subg. †Microtus (Stenocranius) Kastschenko 1901

Subg. †Microtus (Tyrrhenicola) Forsyth Major 1905

†Microtus (Tyrrhenicola) henseli F. Major 1905

Microtus agrestis Linnaeus 1761 [field vole]

Microtus arvalis Pallas 1779 [common vole]

†Microtus australis Martin 1995

†Microtus brecciensis Forsyth Major 1905

Invalid names: Microtus mediterraneus Chaline 1967 [synonym]

Microtus bucharicus Vinogradov 1930

Microtus californicus Peale 1848 [California vole]

Invalid names: Arvicola edax Le Conte 1853 [synonym], Arvicola trowbridgii Baird 1858 [synonym], Microtus scirpensis Bailey 1900 [synonym]

Microtus chrotorrhinus Miller 1894 [rock vole]

Microtus drummondi Audubon and Bachman 1854

Microtus duodecimcostatus de Sélys-Longchamps 1839

†Microtus eleniae van der Meulen and Doukas 2001

†Microtus epimticeps Young

Microtus guatemalensis Merriam 1898 [Guatemalan vole]

Microtus guentheri Danford and Alston 1880 [Günther's vole]

†Microtus guildayi van der Meulen 1978

Invalid names: Arvicola sigmodus Cope 1871 [synonym], Arvicola speothen Cope 1871 [synonym], Arvicola tetradelta Cope 1871 [synonym], Microtus involutus Cope 1871 [synonym]

†Microtus hibbardi Holman 1959

Microtus irene Thomas 1911

Microtus kikuchii Kuroda 1920

Microtus leucurus Blyth 1863

†Microtus llanensis Hibbard 1944

Microtus longicaudus Merriam 1888 [long-tailed vole]

Invalid names: Arvicola alticolus Merriam 1890 [synonym], Arvicola leucophaeus Allen 1894 [synonym], Arvicola mordax Merriam 1891 [synonym], Microtus angusticeps Bailey 1898 [synonym], Microtus cautus Allen 1899 [synonym], Microtus macrurus Merriam 1898 [synonym], Microtus vellerosus Allen 1899 [synonym]

Microtus mandarinus Milne-Edwards 1871

†Microtus meadensis Hibbard 1944

Microtus mexicanus Saussure 1861 [Mexican vole]

Invalid names: Arvicola mogollonensis Mearns 1890 [synonym], Arvicola phaeus Merriam 1892 [synonym], Microtus fulviventer Merriam 1898 [synonym]

Microtus middendorffi Poliakov 1881

†Microtus miguelensis Guthrie 1998

Microtus miurus Osgood 1901

Microtus montanus Peale 1848 [montane vole]

Invalid names: Arvicola longirostris Baird 1858 [synonym], Arvicola nanus Merriam 1891 [synonym], Microtus dutcheri Bailey 1898 [synonym], Microtus nevadensis Bailey 1898 [synonym]

†Microtus morlani Storer 2004

Microtus oaxacensis Goodwin 1966 [Tarabundi vole]

Microtus ochrogaster Wagner 1842 [prairie vole]

Microtus oeconomus Pallas 1776 [tundra vole]

†Microtus paroperarius Hibbard 1944

Microtus pennsylvanicus Ord 1815 [meadow vole]

Invalid names: Arvicola riparius Ord 1825 [synonym]

Microtus pinetorum Le Conte 1830 [woodland vole]

†Microtus quasiater Miller 1896

Microtus richardsoni De Kay 1842 [water vole]

Microtus rossiaemeridionalis Ognev 1924 [sibling vole]

Microtus umbrosus Merriam 1898 [Zempoaltepec vole]

Microtus xanthognathus Leach 1815 [taiga vole]

Invalid names: Arvicola didelta Cope 1871 [nomen dubium], Arvicola involuta Cope 1871 [nomen dubium], Blanfordimys Argyropulo 1933 [synonym], Neodon [synonym], Pedomys Baird 1858 [synonym], Phaiomys Blyth 1863 [synonym], Pitymys McMurtrie 1831 [synonym], Terricola Fatio 1867 [synonym]

Diagnosis

No diagnoses are available

Measurements

part	N	mean

Composition:

phosphaticsubp

Environment:

terrestrialsubc

Locomotion:

actively mobilec

Life habit:

ground dwellingg

Diet:

herbivoreo

Reproduction:

viviparoussubc

Created:

2012-05-15 12:44:05

Modified:

2012-05-14 21:44:05

Source: g = genus, o = order, subc = subclass, c = class, subp = subphylum

References: Samuels and Van Valkenburgh 2008, Carroll 1988, Hendy et al. 2009, Nowak 1999, Lillegraven 1979, Ji et al. 2002

Age range

Maximum range based only on fossils: base of the Calabrian to the top of the Holocene or 1.80000 to 0.00000 Ma
Minimum age of oldest fossil (stem group age): 0.781 Ma

Collections (476 total)

Time interval	Ma	Country or state	Original ID and collection number
Oldest occurrences
Pliocene - Pleistocene	5.333 - 0.0117	Hungary (Barany)	Pitymys hintoni (35473)
Early/Lower Pleistocene	2.588 - 0.781	Spain (Castilla-Leon)	Terricola arvalidens, Stenocranius gregaloides (34916)
Early/Lower Pleistocene	2.588 - 0.781	Germany (Rheinland-Pfalz)	Microtus hintoni, Microtus arvaloides, Microtus nivaloides, Microtus ratticepoides, Microtus arvalinus, Microtus gregaloides (35905)
Early/Lower Pleistocene	2.588 - 0.781	Italy (Verona)	Microtus nivalinus, Microtus arvalis, Pitymys sp., Allophaiomys ruffoi (43644)
Early/Lower Pleistocene	2.588 - 0.781	Italy	Microtus chalinei, Microtus pliocaenicus (42867)
Early/Lower Pleistocene	2.588 - 0.781	Greece (Peloponnisos)	Microtus rufoi (34766)
Early/Lower Pleistocene	2.588 - 0.781	Hungary (Barany)	Microtus arvalinus, Microtus gregalis, Microtus ratticepoides, Pitymys arvalidens, Pitymys gregaloides (35457) Microtus arvalinus, Microtus nivalinus, Microtus nivaloides, Microtus ratticepoides, Microtus sp., Pitymys gregaloides, Pitymys arvalidens (35442) Microtus arvalinus, Microtus nivalinus, Microtus ratticepoides, Pitymys hintoni, Pitymys gregaloides, Pitymys arvalidens (35459)
Early/Lower Pleistocene	2.588 - 0.781	Tajikistan	Microtus lachutensis (34103)
Early/Lower Pleistocene	2.588 - 0.781	Romania	Microtus arvalidens, Microtus gregaloides, Microtus nivalinus, Microtus nivaloides, Microtus ratticepoides (34008 34009) Microtus arvalidens, Microtus nivalinus (33975) Microtus hintoni, Microtus burgondiae (33974)
Early/Lower Pleistocene	2.588 - 0.781	Spain (Granada)	Microtus burgondiae (35169)
Early/Lower Pleistocene	2.588 - 0.781	United Kingdom	Microtus gregalis (34980 34982)
Early/Lower Pleistocene	2.588 - 0.781	Russian Federation (Western Transbaikalia)	Microtus mongolicus, Pitymys sp., Microtus oeconomus (40266)
Early/Lower Pleistocene	2.588 - 0.781	Turkey	Microtus nutiensis (39314)
Early/Lower Pleistocene	2.588 - 0.781	Greece (Kalymnos island)	Microtus sp. (34770)
Early/Lower Pleistocene	2.588 - 0.781	Greece	Microtus nutiensis, Microtus eleniae (34767) Microtus sp. (34785 34786)
Early/Lower Pleistocene	2.588 - 0.781	Ukraine (Rostovskaya Oblast')	Microtus hintoni, Microtus arvalinus, Microtus oeconomus (41060)
Early/Lower Pleistocene	2.588 - 0.781	Germany (Thüringen)	Microtus arvalis (45068)
Early/Lower Pleistocene	2.588 - 0.781	Ukraine	Microtus hintoni, Microtus oeconomus (41049)
Early/Lower Pleistocene	2.588 - 0.781	Italy (Foggia)	Pitymys arvaloides (40995)
Early/Lower Pleistocene	2.588 - 0.781	Netherlands	Microtus sp., Microtus oeconomus, Microtus agrestis (189574)