Smith's vole
Myodes smithii (Thomas, 1905)
The smith's vole (Myodes smithii) is a species in the family Cricetidae, order Rodentia. Recorded adults weigh 27.5 g to 34.9 g and live up to 3.41 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
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Quick facts about the smith's vole
- Weight
- 27.5 g – 34.9 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 3.41 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 3.5 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 19 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4.12src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 81.4 dayssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 3.7src 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 smith's vole live?
Not recorded
What is the smith's vole?
Smith's vole (Craseomys smithii) is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is also known as Smith's red-backed vole and is found only in Japan.
This vole is named after Richard Gordon Smith, (1858–1918) who, after falling out with his wife, traveled the world hunting for animals and keeping a record of his travels and discoveries in eight large leather-bound diaries. He spent some time in Japan where he collected mammals for the British Museum, including the type specimen of this vole.
From the Wikipedia article “Smith's vole” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Smith%27s_vole&oldid=1361625563), 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 smith's vole endangered?
The smith's vole 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 smith's vole classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderRodentia
- familyCricetidae
- genusMyodes
- SpeciesMyodes smithii (Thomas, 1905)
Synonyms Clethrionomys rufocanus okiensis, Craseomys smithii, Eothenomys smithii, Evotomys smithii, Phaulomys smithii
Other names and names in other languages (5)
- Smith s red-backed voleEnglish
- Smith's red-backed voleEnglish
- Smith's red-backed voleEnglish
- Smith’s red-backed voleEnglish
- Smith’s voleEnglish
Relatives of the smith's vole
Other species in the same genus Myodes.
Bank vole
Myodes glareolus
Northern red-backed vole
Myodes rutilus
Southern red-backed vole
Myodes gapperi
Western red-backed vole
Myodes californicus
Tien Shan red-backed vole
Myodes centralis
Shansei vole
Myodes shanseius
CompareSmith's vole vs Bank voleSmith's vole vs Northern red-backed voleSmith's vole vs Southern red-backed voleSmith's vole vs Western red-backed vole
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the smith's vole?
An adult smith's vole weighs 27.5 g – 34.9 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the smith's vole endangered?
The smith's vole is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the smith's vole live?
The smith's vole has a recorded lifespan of 3.41 years.
How long is the smith's vole pregnant?
The recorded gestation period is 19 days.
What kind of animal is the smith's vole?
The smith's vole (Myodes smithii) 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 - 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). Smith's vole (Myodes smithii). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/smith-s-vole
“Smith's vole (Myodes smithii).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/smith-s-vole.
@misc{smith_s_vole_2026,
title = {Smith's vole (Myodes smithii)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/smith-s-vole},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}