Lemming

:This article is about the rodent. For the computer game, see Lemmings (computer game).

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Dicrostonyx

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Lemmus

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Synaptomys

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Myopus

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 * Incomplete listing: see vole

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Lemmings are small rodents, usually found in or near the Arctic. Together with the voles and muskrats, they make up the subfamily Arvicolinae (also known as Microtinae), which forms part of by far the largest mammal radiation, the superfamily Muroidea, which also includes the rats, mice, hamsters, and gerbils.

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Lemmings mostly weigh between 30 g and 112 g (1 to 4 oz) and are about 7 cm - 15 cm (2.75 to 6 in) long. They usually have long, soft fur and very short tails. They are herbivorous, feeding mostly on leaves and shoots, grasses, and sedges in particular, but also roots and bulbs in some cases. Like many rodents, their incisors grow continuously, allowing them to exist on much tougher forage than would otherwise be possible.

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Lemmings do not hibernate through the harsh northern winter, but remain active, finding food by burrowing through the snow, and utilising grasses clipped and stored in anticipation. They are solitary animals by nature, meeting only to mate and then going their separate ways, but like all rodents they have a high reproductive rate and can breed rapidly in good seasons.

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There is little to distinguish a lemming from a vole. Most lemmings are members of the tribe Lemmini (one of the three tribes that make up the subfamily)

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Arctic: The Arctic is the area around the Earth's North Pole. The Arctic includes parts of Russia, Alaska (United States), Canada, Greenland (a territory of Denmark), Iceland, and Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, and Finland), as well as the Arctic Ocean....

Vole: Microtus...

Subfamily: REDIRECT Family (biology)...