About Myodes rufocanus (Sundevall, 1846)
The grey red-backed vole, Myodes rufocanus, has a reddish back and grey sides. Its head and body measure 4.5 to 5.25 inches (114 to 133 mm) long, and its tail is 1 to 1.75 inches (25 to 44 mm) long. It can be told apart from the bank vole by its larger size and distinct reddish back, and from the northern red-backed vole by its larger size, longer legs, and relatively longer tail. The molar teeth of adult grey red-backed voles are rooted in the jaws. This vole is native to northern Europe and Asia. Its range stretches east from Norway, Sweden, and Finland through northern Russia to the Kamchatka Peninsula, and includes the Ural Mountains, the Altai Mountains, northern Korea, Sakhalin Island, Japan, northern Mongolia, and China. In Scandinavia, it occurs from sea level up to 1,170 m (3,839 ft), while in the Khangai Mountains of Mongolia it reaches altitudes as high as 2,700 m (8,858 ft). Its typical habitat is dense undergrowth or rocky areas in coniferous or birch forests, often located near rivers. It can also be found in forest clear cut areas, rough grassland, subarctic shrubby heathland, and dry peat bogs.
