Norway lemming
Lemmus lemmus (Linnaeus, 1758)
The norway lemming (Lemmus lemmus) is a species in the family Cricetidae, order Rodentia. Recorded adults weigh 47.5 g to 68.8 g and live up to 2 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the norway lemming
- Weight
- 47.5 g – 68.8 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 2 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 3.33 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 20.1 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 5.12src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 24 days – 44 dayssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 2.5src 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 norway lemming live?
Not recorded
What is the norway lemming?
The Norway lemming, also known as the Norwegian lemming (Lemmus lemmus), is a common species of lemming found in northern Fennoscandia, where it is the only vertebrate species endemic to the region. The Norway lemming dwells in tundra and fells, and prefers to live near water. Adults feed primarily on sedges, grasses and moss. They are active at both day and night, alternating naps with periods of activity.
From the Wikipedia article “Norway lemming” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Norway_lemming&oldid=1363461770), 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 norway lemming endangered?
The norway lemming is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- 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 Least Concern species.
How is the norway lemming classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderRodentia
- familyCricetidae
- genusLemmus
- SpeciesLemmus lemmus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Cuniculus iterator, Lemmus borealis, Lemmus norvegicus, Mus lemmus
Other names and names in other languages (32)
- Amur lemmingEnglish
- Norway brown lemmingEnglish
- Norwegian lemmingEnglish
- Lemming an toundraBreton
- Lumík norskýCzech
- lumík amurskýCzech
- LemmingDanish
- BerglemmingGerman
- Νορβηγικό ΛέμινγκGreek
- Leming de TundraSpanish
- Leming arruntBasque
- amurinsopuliFinnish
- tunturisopuliFinnish
- Lemming des ToundrasFrench
- Lemming de tundraFrench
- Norvégiai lemmingHungarian
- ノルウェーレミングJapanese
- Norveginis lemingasLithuanian
- AmurlemenNorwegian Bokmål
- lemenNorwegian Bokmål
- norsk lemenNorwegian Bokmål
- AmoerlemmingDutch
- leming amurskiPolish
- leming norweskiPolish
- LeminguePortuguese
- Амурский леммингRussian
- Норвежский леммингRussian
- goddesáhpánNorthern Sami
- lemingSlovenian
- Норвешки лемингSerbian
- fjällämmelSwedish
- 挪威旅鼠Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List
Relatives of the norway lemming
Other species in the same genus Lemmus.
West Siberian lemming
Lemmus sibiricus
Amur lemming
Lemmus amurensis
Canadian lemming
Lemmus trimucronatus
Wrangel island lemming
Lemmus portenkoi
CompareNorway lemming vs West Siberian lemmingNorway lemming vs Amur lemmingNorway lemming vs Canadian lemmingNorway lemming vs Wrangel island lemming
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the norway lemming?
An adult norway lemming weighs 47.5 g – 68.8 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the norway lemming endangered?
The norway lemming is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the norway lemming live?
The norway lemming has a recorded lifespan of 2 years.
How long is the norway lemming pregnant?
The recorded gestation period is 20.1 days.
What kind of animal is the norway lemming?
The norway lemming (Lemmus lemmus) 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). Norway lemming (Lemmus lemmus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/norway-lemming
“Norway lemming (Lemmus lemmus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/norway-lemming.
@misc{norway_lemming_2026,
title = {Norway lemming (Lemmus lemmus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/norway-lemming},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}