California vole

California vole
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Cricetidae
Subfamily: Arvicolinae
Genus: Microtus
Subgenus: Pitymys
Species:
M. californicus
Binomial name
Microtus californicus
(Peale, 1848)
Subspecies

17; see text

The California vole (Microtus californicus) is a type of vole which lives throughout much of California and part of southwestern Oregon. It is also known as the "California meadow mouse", a misnomer as this species is a vole, not a mouse. It averages 172 mm (6.8 in) in length although this length varies greatly between subspecies.