Tuesday 21 May
In the News: First crane egg in the western UK in four centuries
Orkney vole (Microtus arvalis orcadensis)
What’s the World’s Favourite Species?
Find out here.Orkney vole fact file
- Description
- Biology
- Range
- Habitat
- Status
- Threats
- Conservation
- Find out more
- Glossary
- References
- Print factsheet
Orkney vole description
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Mammalia |
| Order | Rodentia |
| Family | Muridae |
| Genus | Microtus (1) |
The Orkney vole is an endemic subspecies of the common vole (Microtus arvalis), which is found only in the Orkney Islands, Scotland. It is larger than the common vole, and is similar in appearance to the field vole (Microtus agrestris), but has shorter paler fur (2). Like all voles it has a stocky body with a blunt, rounded snout.
More »
Top
Related species
Orkney vole biology
The Orkney vole is active during the day and night, but it tends to be more active during the day (3), and usually returns to its burrow to rest every 3 hours (2). These voles feed mainly on leaves, stems and roots of grasses and other plants, and seem to preferentially feed on plants with high nitrogen content (3).
The breeding season occurs between March and November, and successive litters consisting of between 1 and 6 young are produced each month. The young voles breed in the year after their birth, and typically die before the end of that year (3). Main predators are domestic cats and various birds of prey; in fact, Orkney voles represent a very important component of the diet of the Orkney Islands' birds of prey (2).
TopOrkney vole range
Found on the islands of Rousay, Mainland, Sanday, Westray and South Ronaldsay in the Orkney Islands, Scotland. The subspecies was introduced to the islands 5,000 years ago, possibly on the boats of Neolithic settlers (3).
More »
Top
Species with a similar range
Orkney vole habitat
Inhabits old peat cuttings, grassy areas, drainage ditches, road verges and other linear habitats (3).
More »
Top
Species found in a similar habitat
Orkney vole status
Not legally protected in the UK. No conservation designations (4). The common vole, Microtus arvalis, is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (1).
TopOrkney vole threats
At present the population of this subspecies is very fragmented, in small patches of natural or semi-natural habitats. Linear habitats such as fence lines and road verges act as corridors, linking fragmented patches of habitat together and allowing voles to pass between sites (3). As this subspecies is so reliant on these linear habitats, their removal or alteration could therefore impact hugely upon Orkney vole populations (3).
TopOrkney vole conservation
There is currently no conservation action targeted at this species. It is not protected by law (3).
TopFind out more
For more on this species see:
- People’s Trust for Endangered Species - Orkney voles:
http://ptes.org/index.php?page=160
Authentication
This information is awaiting authentication by a species expert, and will be updated as soon as possible. If you are able to help please contact: arkive@wildscreen.org.ukTopGlossary
- Endemic
- A species or taxonomic group that is only found in one particular country or geographic area.
- Subspecies
- A population usually restricted to a geographical area that differs from other populations of the same species, but not to the extent of being classified as a separate species.
References
- IUCN Red List (September, 2009)
http://www.iucnredlist.org - People’s Trust for Endangered Species - Orkney voles (August, 2002)
http://ptes.org/index.php?page=160 - Macdonald, D.W. and Tattersall, F.T. (2001) Britain's Mammals: The Challenge for Conservation. The Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Oxford University.
- The Environment Agency. (1998) Species and Habitats Handbook. The Environment Agency, Bristol.
More »Related species
Sign up to our newsletter
Get the latest wild news direct to your inbox.
Get involved
ARKive relies on its media donors to donate photos and videos. Can you help? There are plenty of other ways you can get involved too!
X
Close
Close
Image credit
Orkney vole
© Pat Morris / www.ardea.com
Ardea wildlife pets environment
35 Brodrick Road
Wandsworth Common
London
SW17 7DX
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 208 672 2067
Fax: +44 (0) 208 672 8787
ardea@ardea.co.uk
http://www.ardea.com
X
Close
Close
Link to this photo
Embed this ARKive thumbnail link by copying and pasting the code below.
Terms of Use - The displayed thumbnail may be used as a link from your website to ARKive's online content for private, scientific, conservation or educational purposes only. It may NOT be used within Apps.
Read more about
X
Close
Close
MyARKive
MyARKive offers the scrapbook feature to signed-up members, allowing you to organize your favourite ARKive images and videos and share them with friends.
X
Close
Close
Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials
Copyright in this website and materials contained on this website (Material) belongs to Wildscreen or its licensors.
Visitors to this website (End Users) are entitled to:
- view the contents of, and Material on, the website;
- download and retain copies of the Material on their personal systems in digital form in low resolution for their own personal use;
- teachers, lecturers and students may incorporate the Material in their educational material (including, but not limited to, their lesson plans, presentations, worksheets and projects) in hard copy and digital format for use within a registered educational establishment, provided that the integrity of the Material is maintained and that copyright ownership and authorship is appropriately acknowledged by the End User.
End Users shall not copy or otherwise extract, alter or manipulate Material other than as permitted in these Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials.
Additional use of flagged material
Green flagged material 
Certain Material on this website (Licence 4 Material) displays a green flag next to the Material and is available for not-for-profit conservation or educational use. This material may be used by End Users, who are individuals or organisations that are in our opinion not-for-profit, for their not-for-profit conservation or not-for-profit educational purposes. Low resolution, watermarked images may be copied from this website by such End Users for such purposes. If you require high resolution or non-watermarked versions of the Material, please contact Wildscreen with details of your proposed use.
Creative commons material
Certain Material on this website has been licensed to Wildscreen under a Creative Commons Licence. These images are clearly marked with the Creative Commons buttons and may be used by End Users only in the way allowed by the specific Creative Commons Licence under which they have been submitted. Please see http://creativecommons.org for details.
Any other use
Please contact the copyright owners directly (copyright and contact details are shown for each media item) to negotiate terms and conditions for any use of Material other than those expressly permitted above. Please note that many of the contributors to ARKive are commercial operators and may request a fee for such use.
Save as permitted above, no person or organisation is permitted to incorporate any copyright material from this website into any other work or publication in any format (this includes but is not limited to: websites, Apps, CDs, DVDs, intranets, extranets, signage, digital communications or on printed materials for external or other distribution). Use of the Material for promotional, administrative or for-profit purposes is not permitted.