California mammals

Long-tailed Vole in California

Microtus longicaudus

Native to California SNR Unranked in California

Not listed as nonindigenous in California by USGS NAS; native to its California range.

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Long-tailed vole peering from rocksLong-tailed vole under a fallen logLong-tailed vole moving through dry grass, tail trailing behind
Photo: CK Kelly · CC BY 4.0Long-tailed vole peering from rocksPhoto: Eric Knight · CC BY 4.0Long-tailed vole using log cover.Photo: Rocky Mountain National Park · CC BY-SA 4.0Long-tailed vole moving through dry grass, tail trailing behind

Long-tailed Vole in California, by the numbers

Common in California 65th most recorded of 241 mammals logged in California

2,704 occurrence records
11 with iNaturalist photos

Records from 2000–2026.

2,704 total records count every California occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 2,703 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Long-tailed Vole in California

Most sightings fall in July to August.

2,703 California occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly California records (table)
MonthRecords
January9
February3
March9
April15
May81
June419
July977
August652
September371
October111
November42
December14

Monthly long-tailed vole occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in California, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in California, with recorded sightings peaking in July–August.

Occurrence map

Where Long-tailed Vole has been recorded in California

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 California records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Yosemite National Park 436
John Muir Wilderness 109
Lassen Volcanic National Park 91
Sequoia National Park 74
Kings Canyon National Park 61
Golden Trout Wilderness 50
Giant Sequoia National Monument 43
Trinity Alps Wilderness 30

Protected places with the most long-tailed vole sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in California

CountyRecords
Mono County 334
Tulare County 311
Mariposa County 297
Inyo County 258
Fresno County 218
Tuolumne County 196
Siskiyou County 154
San Bernardino County 109
Humboldt County 88
Modoc County 87
Nevada County 77
Lassen County 63
16 other counties 512

The complete county distribution, spread across 28 California counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Long-tailed Vole records follow California’s cooler uplands and forests more closely than the hot Central Valley floor. The Sierra Nevada, Klamath Mountains, and Coast Ranges aren’t interchangeable: snow, summer moisture, tree cover, and elevation shape where reports appear.

Road access and popular trails make some mountain belts much better documented than remote forest. A dense group of reports can identify a well-watched area, but it doesn’t prove that the species is more numerous there.

The California record set combines 11 research-grade community observations with 2,700 museum and survey records. Monthly patterns can also reflect weather and observer activity, so they shouldn’t be treated as a direct count of animals.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Long-tailed vole peering from rocks
Full species profile Long-tailed Vole Microtus longicaudus Size 13.5 cm5.3 in Weight 50 g1.8 oz Lifespan Up to 1.2 yr View the full profile

More mammals in California in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

  • GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
  • iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
  • NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
  • Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
  • USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries
  • USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"