NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Mexican Vole
Microtus mexicanus (Saussure, 1861)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Mexican vole (Microtus mexicanus) is a species of vole.
The Hualapai Mexican vole (M. m. hualapaiensis) was formerly recognized as a subspecies and was a protected taxon under the United States Endangered Species Act until 2017. Several other populations of the vole were previously named subspecies but are no longer recognized as distinct.
This species has a disjunct distribution in the southwestern United States and Mexico. It can be found in grasslands and other habitat types and is generally adaptable to a range of climate types.
The Mexican vole mainly feeds on grasses and the roots of shrubs and trees.(Beacham, 2000) In several studies, the Mexican vole was baited using two plant products, barley and oatmeal. It has also been noted to eat monarch butterflies.
The earliest description of the species was in 1861 by Swiss entomologist Henri de Saussure, a Swiss entomologist. Separate populations which appeared to have different morphologies were sometimes named subspecies, such as Microtus mexicanus mogollonensis, M. m. hualpaiensis, and M. m. navaho. Research continues on the relationships of different clades within the species.
Wikipedia contributors, Mexican vole; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:20:06.871911+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Microtus mexicanus (Saussure, 1861)
- Name authority
- (Saussure, 1861)
- Common name
- Mexican Vole
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Cricetidae
- Genus
- Microtus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderRodentia Bowdich, 1821
- suborderMyomorpha Brandt, 1855
- superfamilyMuroidea Illiger, 1811
- familyCricetidae Fischer, 1817
- subfamilyArvicolinae Gray, 1821
- genusMicrotus Schrank, 1798
- speciesMicrotus mexicanus (Saussure, 1861)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Microtus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Insular VoleMicrotus abbreviatus Miller, 1899 | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Field VoleMicrotus (Microtus) agrestis (Linnaeus, 1761) | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Anatolian VoleMicrotus (Microtus) anatolicus Krystufek & Kefelioglu, 2002 | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Beach VoleMicrotus (Mynomes) breweri (Baird, 1857) | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Amargosa VoleMicrotus californicus (Peale, 1848) | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Gray-tailed VoleMicrotus (Mynomes) canicaudus Miller, 1897 | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Clarke's VoleMicrotus (Alexandromys) clarkei (Hinton, 1923) | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Caucasus Pine VoleMicrotus (Terricola) daghestanicus (Shidlovsky, 1919) | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Dogramaci's VoleMicrotus (Microtus) dogramacii Kefelioglu & Krystufek, 1999 | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Major's Pine VoleMicrotus (Terricola) majori Thomas, 1906 | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Alpine Pine VoleMicrotus (Terricola) multiplex (Fatio, 1905) | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Root VoleMicrotus (Alexandromys) oeconomus (Pallas, 1776) | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Microtus mexicanus guadalupensis Bailey, 1902 Bailey, 1902 | synonym |
| Microtus mexicanus hualpaiensis Goldman, 1938 Goldman, 1938 | synonym |
| Microtus mexicanus mexicanus (Saussure, 1861) (Saussure, 1861) | synonym |
| Microtus mexicanus navaho Benson, 1934 Benson, 1934 | synonym |
| Microtus mexicanus salvus Hall, 1948 Hall, 1948 | synonym |
| Arvicola phaeus Merriam, 1892 Merriam, 1892 | synonym |
| Microtus mogollonensis (Mearns, 1890) (Mearns, 1890) | synonym |
| Microtus mexicanus fundatus Hall, 1948 Hall, 1948 | synonym |
| Microtus mexicanus madrensis Goldman, 1938 Goldman, 1938 | synonym |
| Microtus mexicanus neveriae Hooper, 1955 Hooper, 1955 | synonym |
| Microtus mexicanus subsimus Goldman, 1938 Goldman, 1938 | synonym |
| Arvicola mogollonensis Mearns, 1890 Mearns, 1890 | synonym |
| Microtus fulviventer Merriam, 1898 Merriam, 1898 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
North America
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=180308 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:439BP. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.