The steppe lemming is a small rodent that eats grasses and herbs in Eurasian grasslands and uses burrows in the ground. A dark stripe runs down the middle of its back.
Its back is gray to gray-brown with a black stripe down the middle, while its underside is pale. Coat color and stripe width vary from west to east across its range.
It eats grasses and herbs and lives near its burrow. It may carry plants underground for storage and is often active in the morning and evening.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.