CreatureData

Gray-tailed vole

Microtus canicaudus Miller, 1897

LCLeast Concernrodents

The gray-tailed vole (Microtus canicaudus) is a species in the family Cricetidae, order Rodentia. Recorded adults weigh 28.5 g to 35.1 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

No freely licensed photo yet

Quick facts about the gray-tailed vole

Weight
28.5 g – 35.1 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Herbivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Gestation
21.8 dayssrc for Gestation
Young per litter or clutch
4.72src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
24.9 dayssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
4.5src for Litters or clutches a year
Active
Day and night (cathemeral)src for Active
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the gray-tailed vole live?

Not recorded

What is the gray-tailed vole?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The gray-tailed vole (Microtus canicaudus) also known as the gray-tailed meadow vole or gray-tailed meadow mouse, is a rodent in the genus Microtus (small-eared "meadow voles") of the family Cricetidae. Voles are small mammals, and this species lies roughly in the middle of their size range. First collected in 1895, it is endemic to the Willamette Valley, Oregon, and Clark County, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Historically, they were found in the prairie areas of the Valley and, though many of these areas have been converted for agricultural purposes, these animals remain common. For reasons that remain unclear, vole population densities in any area may fluctuate widely from season to season and year to year. They are preyed upon by owls, hawks, and carnivorous mammals, and their parasites include fleas and ticks. These voles build burrows and complex tunnel networks, which they sometimes share with other burrowing animals. Relatively little is known about their behavior in the wild, because they are elusive and unlikely to enter traps.

From the Wikipedia article “Gray-tailed vole” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gray-tailed_vole&oldid=1332149972), 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 gray-tailed vole endangered?

The gray-tailed vole is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the gray-tailed vole classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classMammalia
  4. orderRodentia
  5. familyCricetidae
  6. genusMicrotus
  7. SpeciesMicrotus canicaudus Miller, 1897
Other names and names in other languages (7)
  • Grey-tailed voleEnglish
  • Grauschwanz-WühlmausGerman
  • willamettenruohomyyräFinnish
  • ハイオハタネズミJapanese
  • nornik szaroogonowyPolish
  • Campanhol-de-cauda-cinzentaPortuguese
  • Серохвостая полёвкаRussian

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the gray-tailed vole

Other species in the same genus Microtus.

LC, Least Concern
Tundra vole (Microtus oeconomus)

Tundra vole

Microtus oeconomus

Cricetidae

LC, Least Concern
Social vole (Microtus socialis)

Social vole

Microtus socialis

Cricetidae

CompareGray-tailed vole vs Common voleGray-tailed vole vs Short-tailed field voleGray-tailed vole vs Tundra voleGray-tailed vole vs European pine vole

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the gray-tailed vole?

An adult gray-tailed vole weighs 28.5 g – 35.1 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the gray-tailed vole endangered?

The gray-tailed vole is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long is the gray-tailed vole pregnant?

The recorded gestation period is 21.8 days.

What kind of animal is the gray-tailed vole?

The gray-tailed vole (Microtus canicaudus) 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.

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.

Preview the card

APA

CreatureData. (2026). Gray-tailed vole (Microtus canicaudus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/gray-tailed-vole

MLA

“Gray-tailed vole (Microtus canicaudus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/gray-tailed-vole.

BibTeX
@misc{gray_tailed_vole_2026,
  title = {Gray-tailed vole (Microtus canicaudus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/gray-tailed-vole},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}