They remain active, finding food by burrowing through the snow and utilizing grasses clipped and stored in advance. Lemmings do not hibernate through the harsh northern winter. Lemmings exhibit both diurnal and nocturnal active, often active both night and day. Lemmings have a widespread Holarctic distribution and are common to extreme northern latitudes, including into the Arctic, inhabiting taiga and tundra regions. Members of the genus Dicrostomyx, the collared lemmings, tend to be pure white in winter and develop in winter an enlarged third and fourth claw on the forefeet, a feature unique among rodents (Jordan 2004). Member of the genus Lemmus, the true lemmings, have a fur that is highly patterned with gray, white, brown, and buff colors. They generally have long, soft fur, and very short tails. Lemmings weigh from 30 to 112 grams (1.1 to 4.0 ounces) and are about 7 to 15 centimeters (2.8 to 5.9 inches) long. In general, lemmings are similar to the voles but tend to have, in most species, more thickset, robust bodies and shorter tails (Jordan 2004). However, the term lemming is a common name, not a taxonomic designation, and some members in tribe Microtini also are known as lemmings, notably members of the genera Lagurus and Eulagurus, whose members are known as steppe lemmings. The lemmings generally are seen as being in the tribe Lemmini, with the four genera of Lemmus, Dicrostonyx, Synaptomys, and Myopus. The muskrat by far the largest member of the subfamily, weighing as much as 1820 grams (4 pounds) (Jordan 2004). Arvicolinae sometimes is raised to the level of family as Arvicolidae, and for some time the voles and lemmings were placed in the Cricetidae family with the closely related hamsters (Jordan 2004).īoth voles and lemmings tend to be small (typically less than 100 grams or 3.5 ounces), stocky animals with short legs and tails and compact bodies. The Muridae family, however, has long been undergoing considerable revision. Arvicolinae is also known by its junior synonym (Microtinae). Muridae is a huge family that has over 1,300 species, while about 143 species are placed in the 26 genera of the subfamily Arvicolinae, the third largest subfamily of Muridae (Jordan 2004). Lemmings, voles, and the muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) comprise the subfamily Avicolinae of the family Muridae of the order Rodentia. However, as a result of their being associated with such behavior, they do serve as a frequently-used metaphor about people who go along unquestioningly with popular opinion, with potentially harmful consequences. Lemmings also are the subject of a myth that they follow one another in a migration that leads to their plunging off a cliff one after another in a mass suicide, a myth perpetuated in the 1956 Disney documentary White Wilderness using faked footage. With populations reproducing very quickly, lemmings are an important food resource for predators in their area, including foxes, weasels, hawks, and owls. The renowned high reproductive rate of lemmings not only is tied to the success of the various species, but provides a larger function for their ecosystems. schisticolor, wood lemming), all in tribe Lemmini, with the steppe lemmings of genera Lagurus and Eulagurus in tribe Microtini. The true lemmings comprise genus Lemmus, but among other genera including lemmings are Dicrostonyx (collared lemmings), Synaptomys (bog lemmings), and Myopus ( M. Lemmings have a widespread distribution across northern North America, Europe, and Asia and usually found in or near the Arctic, in tundra biomes. Arvicolinae, which sometimes is raised to family status as Arvicolidae, also includes rodents commonly known as voles and the muskrat. Microtinae) of the Muridae family (sometimes Cricetidae), characterized by a small compact body with short legs and short tails. Lemming is the common name for various, small, furry rodents within the subfamily Arvicolinae (syn.
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