Beach vole
Microtus breweri (Baird, 1857)
The beach vole (Microtus breweri) is a species in the family Cricetidae, order Rodentia. Recorded adults weigh about 54 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Vulnerable.
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Quick facts about the beach vole
- Weight
- 54 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 21.6 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4.25src for Young per litter or clutch
- Active
- Day and night (cathemeral)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the beach vole live?
Not recorded
What is the beach vole?
The beach vole (Microtus breweri) or Muskeget vole is a rodent in the family Cricetidae. This close relative of the eastern meadow vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus) is endemic to the 0.87 km2 Muskeget Island, Massachusetts. Due to its relatively short period of reproductive isolation, there is debate over the beach vole's designation as a subspecies of M. pennsylvanicus.
From the Wikipedia article “Beach vole” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Beach_vole&oldid=1314136681), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the beach vole endangered?
The beach vole is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species.
How is the beach vole classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderRodentia
- familyCricetidae
- genusMicrotus
- SpeciesMicrotus breweri (Baird, 1857)
Synonyms Arvicola brewer
Other names and names in other languages (1)
- Beach meadow voleEnglish
Relatives of the beach vole
Other species in the same genus Microtus.
Common vole
Microtus arvalis
Short-tailed field vole
Microtus agrestis
Tundra vole
Microtus oeconomus
European pine vole
Microtus subterraneus
East European vole
Microtus levis
Social vole
Microtus socialis
CompareBeach vole vs Common voleBeach vole vs Short-tailed field voleBeach vole vs Tundra voleBeach vole vs European pine vole
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the beach vole?
An adult beach vole weighs 54 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the beach vole endangered?
The beach vole is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
How long is the beach vole pregnant?
The recorded gestation period is 21.6 days.
What kind of animal is the beach vole?
The beach vole (Microtus breweri) belongs to the family Cricetidae in the order Rodentia.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Beach vole (Microtus breweri). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/beach-vole
“Beach vole (Microtus breweri).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/beach-vole.
@misc{beach_vole_2026,
title = {Beach vole (Microtus breweri)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/beach-vole},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}