European Water Vole (Arvicola amphibius)

OTHER NAMES: Water Vole, Water Rat
Latin Etymology: Arvicola ("field inhabitant") amphibius ("amphibious")

Adult Water Vole (subspecies A. a. amphibius) at Rainham Marshes, London - July 2010

Featured Subspecies: Arvicola amphibius amphibius
Weight: 200-350g  /  Length: 33cm
UK STATUS NOT EVALUTATED / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

Also (incorrectly) named the Water Rat, and thus star of the famous novel "Wind in the Willows", the Water Vole is a reasonably large rodent which lives, as its name suggests, along bodies of water. They live in burrows near ditches ponds and streams or occasionally in nests in reed beds. They unfortunately dramatically declining, in part because of the introduction of American Mink, but also habitat loss.

Related Species:
Order: Rodentia 
Family: Cricetidae
Genus: Arvicola 
SUBSPECIES: A. a. amphibius, A. a. hintoni, A. a. illyricus, A. a. italicus, A. a. jacutensis, A. a. jenissijensis, A. a. kuznetzovi, A. a. martinoi, A. a. meridionalis, A. a. musignani, A. a. ognevi, A. a. persicus, A. a. reta, A. a. stankovici, A. a. tauricus, A. a. terrestris

- Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM - An uncommon resident

 - Seen on several occassions at Rainham Marshes.

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus,  IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto