Couchgrass vs European water vole

Elymus repens compared with Arvicola amphibius

Key Differences

• Couchgrass is Least Concern while European water vole is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Couchgrass	European water vole
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Liliopsida (Monocots)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Poales (Grasses)	Rodentia (Rodents)
Family	Poaceae (Grass Family)	Cricetidae
Genus	Elymus	Arvicola
Species	Elymus repens	Arvicola amphibius

Conservation Status

Couchgrass

LC — Least Concern

European water vole

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Couchgrass	European water vole
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Couchgrass

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, deserts and xeric shrublands, and temperate coniferous forests, among 5 distinct biome types spanning the Australasia and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Egypt, South Africa), Asia (Iran, North Korea), Europe (4 countries), North America (Canada, Mexico, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Papua New Guinea), and South America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile).

European water vole

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Russia, and Sweden. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 2 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇳🇴 Norway