Zacatecan deer mouse

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Zacatecan deer mouse
Taxidermied Peromyscus difficilis.JPG
A trio of taxidermied Peromyscus difficilis at the Natural History Museum at Tring
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Cricetidae
Subfamily: Neotominae
Genus: Peromyscus
Species:
P. difficilis
Binomial name
Peromyscus difficilis
(J.A. Allen, 1891)

The Zacatecan deer mouse or southern rock mouse (Peromyscus difficilis) is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. [2] It is found only in Mexico, and is not considered endangered. [1]

Contents

Description

Zacetecan deer mice are medium-sized mouse-like animals, weighing from 28 to 43 grams (0.99 to 1.52 oz), with long tails, large ears, and a slightly elongated snout. They have a combined head and body length of 9 to 12.5 centimetres (3.5 to 4.9 in), but the tail is always somewhat longer than the body, being from 9 to 14.5 centimetres (3.5 to 5.7 in) long. The female has six teats. [3]

The upper part and flanks of the animal are typically ochraceous or buff, but in some subspecies may be brownish-red or have a heavy overlay of darker hairs that render the animal almost blackish in color. A clearly visible line runs along the flanks, while the underparts are generally paler, being whitish or pale grey. The area around the shoulders often bears a patch of fur with a slightly ochre or salmon color. There is also a narrow ring of darker fur around the eyes, emphasising their appearance. The tail has a similar color to the body, being buff or ochre above, and paler on the underside. [3]

Zacetecan deer mice breed during the wetter parts of the year, from June to December. The female can produce up to three litters in a season with an average of three pups each. Females can reach sexual maturity within six months, so that some born in the early part of the breeding season may produce young of their own before the end of the year. [4]

Distribution and habitat

The Zacetecan deer mouse is found only in Mexico, where it inhabits the mountainous interior in and around the Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra Madre Oriental. In the north it reaches as far as southern Chihuahua and Coahuila, and in the south, it can be found as far as northern Oaxaca. [5]

It inhabits hilly terrain from 2,100 to 3,100 metres (6,900 to 10,200 ft) altitude. It generally prefers a semi-arid environment, such as chaparral or dry brush. As it alternative name of "southern rock mouse" implies, is often found in rocky or broken terrain, where the common vegetation tends to be grasses, acacia, and shrubs such as acahual. However, Zacatecan deer mice are also fairly common in montane forest dominated by juniper, oak, or pine, and, at the other extreme, have been found in rocky deserts with plentiful cacti. [3]

Ecology

Zacatecan deer mice are well adapted for climbing, although not truly arboreal, and maintain separate home ranges, especially during the breeding season. Population densities peak at around 13 individuals per hectare, but may be much lower at drier times of the year. They are omnivorous, feeding on small invertebrates and the seeds of grasses and other local vegetation. Their principle predators include skunks, snakes, owls, and ring-tailed cats. [3]

Classification

The Zacatecan deer mouse belongs to the truei species group within the genus Peromyscus . Genetic analysis has shown that its closest relative is the northern rock mouse, which is sufficiently similar to the Zacatecan deer mouse to have been considered the same species until 1978. [6]

Five subspecies of the Zacatecan deer mouse are currently recognised: [2]

Related Research Articles

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.

Schmidly's deer mouse, is a recently described species of deer mouse from the mountains of western Mexico. It is part of the highly complex and well-studied Peromyscus boylii species complex. The uniqueness of Peromyscus from this area had long been suspected, but was only formalized in 2004 with the publication of its species description. The species was named in honor of David J. Schmidly, a mammalogist and former president of the University of New Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neotominae</span> Subfamily of mammals

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mexican volcano mouse</span> Species of rodent

The Mexican volcano mouse is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae endemic to high elevation areas of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aztec mouse</span> Species of rodent

The Aztec mouse is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae, native to southern Mexico and parts of Central America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brush mouse</span> Species of rodent

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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perote mouse</span> Species of rodent

The Perote mouse, or Perote deer mouse, is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found only in Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cactus mouse</span> Species of rodent

The cactus mouse 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 southwestern 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 blackish deer mouse is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae found only in Mexico, and is relatively poorly studied.

The Angel Island mouse, or La Guarda deermouse, is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae.

The nimble-footed mouse is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found only in Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tres Marías Island mouse</span> Species of rodent

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-eared mouse</span> Species of rodent

The black-eared mouse, or black-eared deer mouse, is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae, native to North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mexican deer mouse</span> Species of rodent

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-ankled mouse</span> Species of mammal

The white-ankled mouse is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae.

The tawny deer mouse or marsh mouse is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found only in Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slevin's mouse</span> Species of rodent

Slevin's mouse, also known as the Catalina deer mouse, is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is endemic to Isla Santa Catalina off the east coast of Baja California Sur, an island with an area of about 40 km2 (15 sq mi), and it is the only native mammal on the island. It is named for Joseph Slevin, a curator at the California Academy of Sciences.

Winkelmann's mouse is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae found only in Mexico, and is named for John R. Winkelmann, who collected the first specimens.

Campo Verde Flora and Fauna Protection Area is a protected area in northern Mexico. It covers an area of 1080.67 km2 in northwestern Chihuahua, on the border with Sinaloa. It is at the eastern edge of the Sierra Madre Occidental, where it meets the Chihuahuan Desert.

References

  1. 1 2 Castro-Arellano, I. & Vázquez, E. (2008). "Peromyscus difficilis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2008. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  2. 1 2 Musser, G. G. and M. D. Carleton. 2005. Superfamily Muroidea. Pp. 894-1531 in Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder eds. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Fernandez, J.A.; García-Campusano, F. & Hafner, M.S. (2010). "Peromyscus difficilis (Rodentia: Cricetidae)". Mammalian Species. 42 (1): 220–229. doi: 10.1644/867.1 .[ dead link ]
  4. ↑ Galindo-Leal, C. & Krebs, C.J. (1997). "Habitat structure and demographic variability of a habitat specialist: the rock mouse (Peromyscus difficilis)" (PDF). Revista Mexicana de Mastozoología. 2: 72–89. doi: 10.22201/ie.20074484e.1997.2.1.72 . Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 May 2010.
  5. ↑ Hoffmeister, D.F. & de la Torre, L. (1961). "Geographic variation in the mouse Peromyscus difficilis". Journal of Mammalogy. 42 (1): 1–13. doi:10.2307/1377235. JSTOR   1377235.
  6. ↑ Bradley, R.D.; et al. (2007). "Toward a molecular phylogeny for Peromyscus: evidence from mitochondrial cytochrome-b sequences". Journal of Mammalogy. 88 (5): 1146–1159. doi:10.1644/06-MAMM-A-342R.1. PMC   2778318 . PMID   19924266.
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