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Wildlife Sagebrush Vole Page
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Sagebrush Vole
Lemmiscus curtatus
Habitat: It is strongly tied with sagebrush and may be locally abundant on well-managed sagebrush-wheatgrass rangeland. It is also found in brushy canyon and hill country where sage, rabbitbrush, and wheat-grasses are common.
Diet: Sagebrush voles are strict herbivores feeding on a variety of green vegetation, mostly grasses. Leaves and other softer tissues are consumed, but seeds (except for those of wheatgrass) are not typically eaten. Forbs and woody plants reported in the diet include greasewood, rabbitbrush, sage, winterfat, several species of mustard, lupine and other legumes, and several composites (Maser et al. 1974, F. Miller 1930). Legumes made up much of the stomach contents in a South Dakota study. Inflorescences, bark, and twigs of sagebrush are important in the winter months. Occasionally, sagebrush voles steal clippings accumulated by deer mice (Maser et al. 1974).
Description: The sagebrush vole is small and short tailed with dense, long, soft pelage. The dorsal pelage is buff-gray to gray with paler sides. The venter is buff to silver gray, and the tail is indistinctly bicolored. Hairs are dark gray at their bases. The tail is well haired but short, only about as long as the hindfoot. The ears are small, averaging slightly more than half the length of the hindfoot. The posterior soles of the feet are well haired. Measurements are: total length 100-142 mm; length of tail 16-30 mm; length of hindfoot 14-18 mm; length of ear 9-16 mm: weight 17-38 g.
Range in Colorado: Sagebrush voles are associated with shrublands in northwestern and north-central Colorado.
Status: This species is not listed.
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Species Occurrence Tool
(*) NDIS has no county occurrence data for fish at this time.
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