Mice Rats and Relatives: Muridae
Norway Lemming (lemmus Lemmus): Species Accounts
Physical characteristics: Norway lemmings have brown to black fur. Adult head and body length is 3 to 7 inches (8 to 17.5 centimeters) and weight is 0.5 to 4.5 ounces (20 to 130 grams).
Geographic range: They are found in Scandinavia (the northern European region of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands).
Habitat: These lemmings inhabit open tundra and subarctic bog areas.
Diet: Their diet consists of mosses, lichens (LIE-kenz), bark, and some grasses.
Norway lemmings eat mosses, lichens, bark, and some grasses.
Behavior and reproduction: Norway lemmings are mostly nocturnal (active at night). They travel long distances in mass migrations, and are active year-round, remaining mostly beneath snow cover. The gestation period is about sixteen days, with a litter of up to thirteen young and up to six litters produced each year.
Norway lemmings and people: Scandinavian people have made lemmings a popular animal in their myths and legends.
Conservation status: Norway lemmings are not threatened. ∎
Additional topics
- Mice Rats and Relatives: Muridae - Black-bellied Hamster (cricetus Cricetus): Species Accounts
- Mice Rats and Relatives: Muridae - Muskrat (ondatra Zibethicus): Species Accounts
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Animal Life ResourceMammalsMice Rats and Relatives: Muridae - Physical Characteristics, Behavior And Reproduction, Muskrat (ondatra Zibethicus): Species Accounts, Norway Lemming (lemmus Lemmus): Species Accounts - GEOGRAPHIC RANGE, HABITAT, DIET, MICE RATS RELATIVES AND PEOPLE, CON