Steppe vole
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 Russia and Ukraine in steppes and semiarid environments. Fossil remains of this species have been found in areas as far west as Great Britain.
Cr
CrepuscularCrepuscular animals are those that are active primarily during twilight (that is, the periods of dawn and dusk). This is distinguished from diurnal...
Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal",...
Fo
FolivoreIn zoology, a folivore is a herbivore that specializes in eating leaves. Mature leaves contain a high proportion of hard-to-digest cellulose, less ...
He
HerbivoreA herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example, foliage, for the main component of its die...
Fo
FossorialA fossorial animal is one adapted to digging which lives primarily but not solely, underground. Some examples are badgers, naked mole-rats, clams, ...
Te
TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Te
TerritorialA territory is a sociographical area that which an animal consistently defends against the conspecific competition (or, occasionally, against anima...
Co
CongregatoryCongregatory animals tend to gather in large numbers in specific areas as breeding colonies, for feeding, or for resting.
Among animals, viviparity is the development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. The term 'viviparity' and its adjective form 'viviparous'...
A burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to create a space suitable for habitation, temporary refuge, or as a byproduct ...
Po
PolygynandryPolygynandry is a mating system in which both males and females have multiple mating partners during a breeding season.
Po
PolygamyPolygamy is the practice of breeding with multiple partners. When a male breeds with more than one female at the same time – it is called polygyny....
So
SocialMi
MigratingAnimal migration is the relatively long-distance movement of individual animals, usually on a seasonal basis. It is the most common form of migrati...
S
starts withThe steppe lemming has a body length of up to 12 cm and a tail of 2 cm, a little shorter than the hind foot. It weighs about 30 g. The eyes and ears are small and the fur is a uniform shade of brownish-grey with a black dorsal stripe.
This lemming is found in steppe, forest-steppe and semidesert parts of western Mongolia, northwest China, many parts of the former USSR, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, the southern and middle Ural, and western and eastern Siberia.
The steppe lemming is a colonial species digging lengthy burrows. It has a partially underground mode of life, being active during the day, but only going above the surface for short periods. It feeds on various parts of plants, including seeds. It reaches sexual maturity at the age of six weeks and can produce up to six broods in a year, with five or six young in each. Under favourable conditions, reproduction continues throughout the year. The numbers of steppe lemmings vary greatly according to climatic conditions and the availability of food. Migrations are observed during years of mass outbreaks.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...