Steppe lemming
Lagurus lagurus (Pallas, 1773)
The steppe lemming (Lagurus lagurus) is a species in the family Cricetidae, order Rodentia. Recorded adults weigh about 20.3 g and live up to 3.81 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the steppe lemming
- Weight
- 20.3 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 3.81 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 3.83 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 20.1 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4.5src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 38 days – 44 dayssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 5src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the steppe lemming live?
Not recorded
What is the steppe lemming?
The steppe lemming or steppe vole (Lagurus lagurus) is a small rodent. It is described as somewhat similar in appearance to the Norway lemming (Lemmus lemmus). It is more active at night, however, it is not entirely nocturnal. The steppe lemming's diet consists of shoots and leaves. In the wild, it is found in steppes and semiarid environments in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, northwestern China, and western Mongolia. Fossil remains of this species have been found in areas as far west as Great Britain.
From the Wikipedia article “Steppe lemming” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Steppe_lemming&oldid=1379888509), 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 steppe lemming endangered?
The steppe 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 steppe lemming classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderRodentia
- familyCricetidae
- genusLagurus
- SpeciesLagurus lagurus (Pallas, 1773)
Synonyms Lagurus lagurus abacanicus, Lagurus lagurus altorum, Lagurus lagurus occidentalis, Lagurus migratorius, Lagurus occidentalis, Mus lagurus, Myodes lagurus
Other names and names in other languages (20)
- STEPPE LEMMINGEnglish
- Steppe voleEnglish
- Steppe voleEnglish
- STEPPE VOLEEnglish
- pestruška písečnáCzech
- SteppenlemmingGerman
- GraulemmingGerman
- arosopuliFinnish
- Lagure des steppesFrench
- Lemming des steppesFrench
- ステップレミングJapanese
- Дала тоқалтісіKazakh
- Hokh OvMongolian
- Oviin Hokh OgotnoMongolian
- SteppelemenNorwegian Bokmål
- PiestruszkaPolish
- piestruszka stepowaPolish
- Степная пеструшкаRussian
- Pestrushka StepnayaRussian
- 草原兔尾草Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List
Relatives of the steppe lemming
Other species in the same genus Lagurus.
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the steppe lemming?
An adult steppe lemming weighs 20.3 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the steppe lemming endangered?
The steppe lemming is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the steppe lemming live?
The steppe lemming has a recorded lifespan of 3.81 years.
How long is the steppe lemming pregnant?
The recorded gestation period is 20.1 days.
What kind of animal is the steppe lemming?
The steppe lemming (Lagurus lagurus) 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). Steppe lemming (Lagurus lagurus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/steppe-lemming
“Steppe lemming (Lagurus lagurus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/steppe-lemming.
@misc{steppe_lemming_2026,
title = {Steppe lemming (Lagurus lagurus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/steppe-lemming},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}