Field mouse - Microtus montebelli

Japanese: ハタネズミ(畑鼠) - ハタネズミ（英語表記）Microtus montebelli

A semi-subterranean mouse with small eyes, a stocky body, and short tail and limbs that lives in Honshu and Kyushu. A mammal of the Muridae family in the order Rodentia. It has attracted attention because it often occurs in large outbreaks and feeds on crops and seedlings in forest plantations. Its fur is velvety and soft, long, and its ears are almost hidden by the hair on its head. Its body color is gray-brown. Its body length is 11-13 cm, its tail length is 3.5-4.5 cm, and it weighs 30-40 g. It usually lives in farmland, pastures, grasslands, and light forests from plains to altitudes of about 1,200 m, but it particularly prefers moist grasslands near water sources, and lives in groups, digging complex tunnels up to 30 m long underground to use as passageways, nests, and storage areas.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

本州と九州にすむ，尾と四肢が短く，ずんぐりした体つきの，目の小さな半地下生のネズミ。齧歯（げつし）目ネズミ科の哺乳類。しばしば大発生して農作物や植林地の苗木を食害することで話題を呼ぶ。毛はビロード状で柔らかく，長く，耳はほとんど頭の毛に隠れる。体色は灰褐色。体長11～13cm，尾長3.5～4.5cm，体重30～40g。ふつう平地から標高1200mくらいまでの農地，牧場，草原，明るい林にすむが，とくに水場近くの湿潤な草地を好み，地中に延長30mに達する複雑なつくりのトンネルを掘って通路，巣，貯蔵庫とし，集団生活を送る。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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