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Home/Species/ Northern Red-backed Vole

Clethrionomys rutilus

(Pallas, 1778)

Northern Red-backed Vole

G5Secure Found in 13 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.105195
Element CodeAMAFF09010
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassMammalia
OrderRodentia
FamilyCricetidae
GenusClethrionomys
Synonyms
Myodes rutilus(Pallas, 1778)
Other Common Names
Campagnol à dos roux boréal (FR)
Concept Reference
Wilson, D. E., and D. M. Reeder (editors). 1993. Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. Second edition. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. xviii + 1206 pp. Available online at: http://www.nmnh.si.edu/msw/.
Taxonomic Comments
Red-backed voles are in the genus Clethrionomys following Kryštufek et al. (2020) and the American Society of Mammalogists (ASM). The genus group name Myodes is a junior synonym of Lemmus and is not available. Some authors have suggested that rutilis and gapperi are conspecific, but this has not been accepted by most authorities.
Conservation Status
Rank MethodExpertise without calculation
Review Date2016-04-04
Change Date1996-11-12
Range Extent Comments
Holarctic; Eurasia and Alaska and northern Canada, east to Hudson Bay and south to northern British Columbia and extreme northeastern Manitoba (Musser and Carleton, in Wilson and Reeder 1993).
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Dry tundra and alpine, damp forest floor in northern spruce forests and taiga (Batzli, in Wilson and Ruff 1999; Burt and Grossenheider 1976).

Reproduction

Young are born May-September. Probably 2 litters per year.
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest - ConiferWoodland - ConiferAlpineTundra
Other Nations (2)
CanadaN5
ProvinceRankNative
ManitobaS3Yes
NunavutS5Yes
British ColumbiaS4Yes
SaskatchewanSNRYes
Northwest TerritoriesS5Yes
Yukon TerritoryS5Yes
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
AlaskaS5Yes
Roadless Areas (13)
Alaska (13)
AreaForestAcres
Boston BarChugach National Forest53,617
Chugach-12Chugach National Forest8,116
Chugach-13Chugach National Forest13,337
College FiordChugach National Forest1,130,818
Copper River WetlandsChugach National Forest85,972
Fidalgo-GravinaChugach National Forest257,968
Johnson PassChugach National Forest152,508
Kenai LakeChugach National Forest213,172
Kenai MountainsChugach National Forest306,600
ResurrectionChugach National Forest224,615
Roaded DonutChugach National Forest968
Sheridan GlacierChugach National Forest224,683
Twenty MileChugach National Forest198,775
References (23)
  1. American Society of Mammalogists (ASM). 2024. The Mammal Diversity Database (MDD). Online. Available: www.mammaldiversity.org
  2. Banks, E. M., R. J. Brooks, and J. Schnell. 1975. A radiotracking study of home range and activity of the brown lemming (<i>Lemmus trimucronatus</i>). Journal of Mammalogy 56:888-901.
  3. Bowman, J. C., M. Edwards, L. S. Sheppard, and G. J. Forbes. 1999. Record distance for a non-homing movement by a deer mouse, <i>Peromyscus maniculatus</i>. Canadian Field-Naturalist 113:292-293.
  4. Brooks, R. J., and E. M. Banks. 1971. Radio-tracking study of lemming home range. Communications in Behavioral Biology 6:1-5.
  5. Burt, W. H., and R. P. Grossenheider. 1976. A field guide to the mammals. Third edition. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. 289 pp.
  6. Castleberry, S., B., T. L. King, P. B. Wood, and W. M. Ford. 2002. Microsatellite DNA analysis of population structure in Allegheny woodrats (<i>Neotoma magister</i>). Journal of Mammalogy 83:1058-1070.
  7. Douglass, R. J. 1977. Population dynamics, home ranges, and habitat associations of the yellow-cheeked vole, <i>Microtus xanthognathus</i>, in the Northwest Territories. Canadian Field-Naturalist 91:237-47.
  8. Garland, T., Jr. and W. G. Bradley. 1984. Effects of a highway on Mojave Desert rodent populations. American Midland Naturalist 111:47-56.
  9. Jike, L., G. O. Batzli, L. L. Geta. 1988. Home ranges of prairie voles as determined by radiotracking and by powdertracking. Journal of Mammalogy 69:183-186.
  10. Jones, J. K., Jr., R. S. Hoffman, D. W. Rice, C. Jones, R. J. Baker, and M. D. Engstrom. 1992a. Revised checklist of North American mammals north of Mexico, 1991. Occasional Papers, The Museum, Texas Tech University, 146:1-23.
  11. Krohne, D. T., and G. A. Hoch. 1999. Demography of <i>Peromyscus leucopus</i> populations on habitat patches: the role of dispersal. Canadian Journal of Zoology 77:1247-1253.
  12. Kryštufek, B., A. S. Tesakov, V. S. Lebedev, A. A. Bannikova, N. I. Abramson, and G. Shenbrot. 2020. Back to the future: the proper name for red-backed voles is <i>Clethrionomys</i> Tilesius and not <i>Myodes </i>Pallas. Mammalia 84(2):214-217.
  13. MacDonald, S. O., and J. A. Cook. 2009. Recent mammals of Alaska. University of Alaska Press, Fairbanks, Alaska. 387 pp.
  14. MacMillen, R. E. 1964. Population ecology, water relations and social behavior of a southern California semidesert rodent fauna. University of California Publications in Zoology 71:1-59.
  15. Maier, T. J. 2002. Long-distance movements by female white-footed mice, <i>Peromyscus leucopus</i>, in extensive mixed-wood forest. Canadian Field-Naturalist 116:108-111.
  16. Oxley, D. J., M. B. Fenton and G. R. Carmody. 1974. The effects of roads on populations of small mammals. Journal of Applied Ecology 11: 51-59.
  17. Rehmeier, R. L., G. A. Kaufman, and D. W. Kaufman. 2004. Long-distance movements of the deer mouse in tallgrass prairie. Journal of Mammalogy 85:562-568.
  18. Smith, M. H. 1965. Dispersal capacity of the dusky-footed wood rat, <i>Neotoma fuscipes</i>. American Midland Naturalist 74:457-463.
  19. Storer, T. I., F. C. Evans, and F. G. Palmer. 1944. Some rodent populations in the Sierra Nevada of California. Ecological Monographs 14:166-192.
  20. Wilkins, K. T. 1982. Highways as barriers to rodent dispersal. Southwestern Naturalist 27: 459-460.
  21. Wilson, D. E., and D. M. Reeder (editors). 1993. Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. Second edition. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. xviii + 1206 pp. Available online at: http://www.nmnh.si.edu/msw/.
  22. Wilson, D. E., and D. M. Reeder (editors). 2005. Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. Third edition. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. Two volumes. 2,142 pp. [As modified by ASM the Mammal Diversity Database (MDD) at https://www.mammaldiversity.org/index.html]
  23. Wilson, D. E., and S. Ruff. 1999. The Smithsonian book of North American mammals. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C. 750 pp.