Montane Water Vole

Open encyclopedia reference

The montane water vole (Arvicola scherman) is a fossorial species of vole found throughout Central and Western Europe, northern Spain, and central Romania, particularly in high-altitude mountain regions such as the Alps, Pyrenees, and Carpathians. Arvicola scherman was initially regarded as a subspecies of Arvicola terrestris but was later redesignated as a species by Panteleyev in 2000. Unlike its close relative, the European water vole (Arvicola amphibius), which is semi-aquatic, the montane water vole has adapted to a burrowing lifestyle in mountainous environments. Genetic and fossil evidence suggest that the Arvicola species originated during the Pleistocene epoch, with the montane water vole diverging due to habitat specialization and geographic isolation. While the American Society of Mammalogists treats A. scherman as a synonym of Arvicola amphibius, genetic studies indicate distinct differences between the two species.

Wikipedia contributors, Montane water vole; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:12:15.104145+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Arvicola scherman (Shaw, 1801)

Name authority

(Shaw, 1801)

Common name

Montane Water Vole

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Rodentia

Family

Cricetidae

Genus

Arvicola

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.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
9. subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
10. infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
11. orderRodentia Bowdich, 1821
12. suborderMyomorpha Brandt, 1855
13. superfamilyMuroidea Illiger, 1811
14. familyCricetidae Fischer, 1817
15. subfamilyArvicolinae Gray, 1821
16. genusArvicola Lacépède, 1799
17. speciesArvicola scherman (Shaw, 1801)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Arvicola. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 593 records assigned to Cricetidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

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.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=970589 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:5W47G. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.