common vole vs Japanese Squirrel

Microtus arvalis compared with Sciurus lis

Key Differences

• common vole is Near Threatened while Japanese Squirrel is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	common vole	Japanese Squirrel
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Mammalia (Mammals)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order same	Rodentia (Rodents)	Rodentia (Rodents)
Family	Cricetidae	Sciuridae (Squirrels)
Genus	Microtus	Sciurus (Tree Squirrels)
Species	Microtus arvalis	Sciurus lis

Evolutionary Relationship

common vole and Japanese Squirrel share a common ancestor at the Order level: Rodentia. (Rodents)

Conservation Status

common vole

NT — Near Threatened

Japanese Squirrel

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	common vole	Japanese Squirrel
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

common vole

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Found across Europe (6 countries). Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Japanese Squirrel

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, France, Netherlands, and United Kingdom.

common vole

common vole (Microtus arvalis) is classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List. Close to qualifying as threatened, with populations that may become vulnerable without conservation action.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 2 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇬🇧 United Kingdom