Steppe lemming

Steppe lemming
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Cricetidae
Subfamily: Arvicolinae
Genus: Lagurus
Species:
L. lagurus
Binomial name
Lagurus lagurus
(Pallas, 1773)

The steppe lemming or steppe vole (Lagurus lagurus) is a small, plump, light-grey rodent, similar in appearance to the Norway lemming (Lemmus lemmus), but not in the same genus. The steppe lemming eats shoots and leaves and is more active at night, though it is not strictly nocturnal. 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.[1]

  1. ^ Kryštufek, Boris; Shenbrot, Georgy I. (July 2022). Voles and Lemmings (Arvicolinae) of the Palaerctic Region (PDF) (1 ed.). Maribor, Slovenia: University of Maribor Press. pp. 170–175. ISBN 978-961-286-611-2. Retrieved 8 March 2024.