| Pemberton's deer mouse | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Cricetidae |
| Subfamily: | Neotominae |
| Genus: | Peromyscus |
| Species: | †P. pembertoni |
| Binomial name | |
| †Peromyscus pembertoni Burt, 1932 | |
Pemberton's deer mouse (Peromyscus pembertoni) lived on San Pedro Nolasco Island ( 27°58′03″N111°22′42″W / 27.96749°N 111.37845°W ) in the Gulf of California. The last 12 specimens were collected on 26 December 1931.
The generic name comes from the Ancient Greek pero = "boots", mys meaning "mouse", hence the "mouse with boots", referring to the white feet.
P. pembertoni is a medium-sized deer mouse. No significant sexual dimorphism is evident. The tail is usually longer than the head, and the body is bicolored. It is well-haired, and tufted at the end. The hind feet are small and similar in length to the ear, but sometimes longer. The skull is medium-sized, and auditory bullae are not greatly inflated. The upper parts of the pelage are medium brown; the sides are lighter brown with a broad orange lateral line extending from the cheek to the hindquarters; the under parts are whitish, the ankles dusky gray, and the feet whitish below ankle.
Peromyscus species, also known as deer mice, are common North American mammals. They tend to occupy in range from Alaska to Central America in many different habitats. Because they are so abundant in nature, these mice constitute a large component of the Nearctic ecosystems. These mice have great importance to scientific research, both the wild type and genetic variants have been used for laboratory researches. They are not closely related to the house mouse and the rats.
Pemberton's deer mouse is a very cold-tolerant species; they live and survive in temperatures between 22 and 25 °C. They are usually sexually mature by 55 days of age. Gestation is 23 days, except in lactating, females when it is delayed by four to six days to 28 or 30 days. P. pembertoni breeds in mated pairs.
This species is poorly known. The only island that supported two different species of Peromyscus - P. pembertoni and P. boylii - was San Pedro Nolasco. Besides these two species, no other mammals occurred on the island. They were collected on a steep hill covered with grass on the eastern side of the island. The dominant plants found there were tree torote, pitayita, liga, Adam's tree, leather plant, fishhook cactus, malva rosa, chain fruit cholla, cardon, slipper plant, jojoba, and organpipe cactus.
The social behavior of P. pembertoni is unknown. Breeding probably occurred throughout most of the year, although the majority of young would have been born in spring and early summer. Breeding may have ceased during winter months.
Like other Peromyscus species, they probably had keen eyesight and vision, and used chemical cues extensively in communication.
P. pembertoni would have escaped predation through its nocturnal and secretive habits.
The longevity of P. pembertoni was probably short, with it unlikely that more than a few would live more than one year under natural conditions.
Peromyscus is a genus of rodents. They are commonly referred to as deer mice or deermice, not to be confused with the chevrotain or "mouse deer". They are New World mice only distantly related to the common house and laboratory mouse, Mus musculus. From this relative, Peromyscus species are distinguished by relatively larger eyes, and also often two-tone coloring, with darker colors over the dorsum (back), and white abdominal and limb hair-coloring. In reference to the coloring, the word Peromyscus comes from Greek words meaning "booted mouse". They are also accomplished jumpers and runners by comparison to house mice, and their common name of "deer mouse" is in reference to this agility.
The Neotominae are a subfamily of the family Cricetidae. They consist of four tribes, 16 genera, and many species of New World rats and mice, predominantly found in North America. Among them are the well-known deer mice, white-footed mice, packrats, and grasshopper mice.
Peromyscus maniculatus is a rodent native to eastern North America. It is most commonly called the eastern deer mouse; when formerly grouped with the western deer mouse, it was referred to as the North American deermouse and is fairly widespread across most of North America east of the Mississippi River, with the major exception being the lowland southeastern United States.
The desert pocket mouse is a North American species of heteromyid rodent found in the southwestern United States and Mexico. True to its common name, the medium-sized desert pocket mouse prefers sandy, sparsely vegetated desert environments.
The Mexican volcano mouse is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae endemic to high elevation areas of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt.
The Texas mouse is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas in the United States. This species is named in honor of Henry Philemon Attwater.
The brush mouse is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in mountainous areas of Mexico and the western United States at altitudes over 2,000 m (6,600 ft).
The Zacatecan deer mouse or southern rock mouse is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found only in Mexico, and is not considered endangered.
The cactus mouse or cactus deermouse is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is a species of the genus Peromyscus, a closely related group of New World mice often called "deermice". They are native to desert areas of western North America.
Eva's desert mouse is a species of rodent in the genus Peromyscus of the family Cricetidae found only in the Baja California peninsula of Mexico.
The cotton mouse is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae found in the woodlands of the US South.
The Angel Island mouse, or La Guarda deermouse, is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae.
The Tres Marías island mouse or Tres Marías deer mouse is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found only on the Islas Marías off the west coast of Mexico. When last assessed, it was common on María Cleofás Island, but rare or absent on the other, more disturbed, islands.
The black-eared mouse, or black-eared deer mouse, is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae, native to North America.
The Mexican deer mouse is a species of forest-dwelling rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in southern Mexico and throughout much of Central America.
The white-ankled mouse is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in Mexico and in New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas in the United States.
The tawny deer mouse or marsh mouse is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found only in Mexico.
The false canyon mouse or Coronados deer mouse, is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is known only from Coronados Island, a small island in the Gulf of California, part of Baja California Sur, Mexico. The species is threatened by predation by feral cats, and the IUCN has assessed its conservation status as "critically endangered".
San Pedro Nolasco Island, sometimes called Seal Island, is a small and rugged Mexican island in the Gulf of California. It is 4.2 km long by 1 km wide, and lies 15 km from the nearest point of the Mexican coast and about 28 km west of the resort town of San Carlos on the coast of the Sonoran Desert. The island is protected as a nature reserve and its coastal waters are well known as a sport fishing and diving site.
The western deermouse or western deer mouse is a rodent native to North America. It is widespread throughout the western half of the continent, mainly in areas west of the Mississippi River.
