Arvicola amphibius

• The Eurasian water vole is the largest among voles in the family Arvicolidae, surpassed in size only by the muskrat. It has a more rounded body than the gray rat and a short muzzle with small ears.
• The Eurasian water vole is capable of digging but leads a semi-aquatic lifestyle, although not as distinctly as the muskrat. It has the ability to dig but also leads a semi-aquatic lifestyle.
• The Eurasian water vole is a carrier of erysipelas, and its susceptibility to this disease is ten times higher than in other vole species. This is also observed in other moisture-loving small mammals, such as moles.
• The Eurasian water vole’s tail makes up two-thirds of its body length, is round in cross-section, and covered with sparse stiff hairs, unlike the muskrat and rat. It ends with a weak brush-like tip about 0.5 cm long, shorter than that of the rat.