---
title: "Woelrat"
description: "Arvicola amphibius — Zoogdieren. The European water vole (Arvicola amphibius) or northern water vole is a semi-aquatic rodent."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/nl/animal/european-water-vole
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Woelrat

> Arvicola amphibius — Zoogdieren. The European water vole (Arvicola amphibius) or northern water vole is a semi-aquatic rodent.

- Scientific name: *Arvicola amphibius*
- Category: `mammals` (Zoogdieren)
- Habitats: `freshwater` (Meren en rivieren)
- iNaturalist observations: 2528
- Wikidata: [Q27016](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q27016)
- iNaturalist taxon: [67819](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/67819)

## Names

- en: European Water Vole
- de: Ostschermaus
- es: Rata Topera
- fr: Campagnol aquatique
- nl: Woelrat
- pl: Karczownik ziemnowodny

## Countries with the most observations

GB (491), RU (237), FI (158), DE (84), DK (67), FR (28), PL (28), AT (25), CH (21), CZ (19), SI (19), SE (17)

## Summary

The European water vole (Arvicola amphibius) or northern water vole is a semi-aquatic rodent. It is often informally called the water rat, though it only superficially resembles a true rat. Water voles have rounder noses than rats, deep brown fur, chubby faces, and short fuzzy ears; unlike rats, their tails, paws, and ears are covered with hair.
In the wild, on average, water voles only live about five months. Maximum longevity in captivity is two and a half years.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_water_vole

## Photo

![Woelrat](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/european-water-vole/medium.jpg)

Photo: Philip Precey · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/266526749

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/european-water-vole?lang=nl` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).