Western deer mouse
Western deer mouse | |
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In Linn County, Kansas | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Rodentia |
Family: | Cricetidae |
Subfamily: | Neotominae |
Genus: | Peromyscus |
Species: | P. sonoriensis
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Binomial name | |
Peromyscus sonoriensis (Le Conte, 1853)
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The western deermouse or western deer mouse (Peromyscus sonoriensis) 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.[1]
Taxonomy
It was formerly confused with the
Description
P. sonoriensis is covered in soft fur that ranges from gray to brown, but all of a distinctive white underside and white feet. As with their close relative, P. maniculatus, they have many subspecies, including a distinctive "forest" and "grassland" morph. The "forest" morph has a long tail, large ears, and long hind feet, and inhabits western boreal forest as well as coastal forests of the western United States. The "grassland" morph has short tails, small ears, and small feet, and inhabits the prairies and grasslands of the continental interior and extends into the deserts of the American Southwest.[1]
Distribution and habitat
Peromyscus sonoriensis is an abundant species in areas of North America west of the Mississippi River. They are populous in the western mountains and live in wooded areas and areas that were previously wooded.[3] Deer mice inhabit a wide variety of plant communities including grasslands, brushy areas, woodlands, and forests.[4] In a survey of small mammals on 29 sites in subalpine forests in Colorado and Wyoming, the deer mouse had the highest frequency of occurrence; however, it was not always the most abundant small mammal.[5] Deer mice were trapped in four of six forest communities in eastern Washington and northern Idaho, and they were the only rodent in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) savanna.[6][7]
Although found throughout most of western North America, it is absent from parts of the Southwestern United States and most of Mexico, where it is instead replaced with the similar southern deer mouse (P. labecula) and black-eared mouse (P. melanotis), Baja California and most of California south of San Francisco Bay, where it is replaced by Gambel's deer mouse (P. gambelii), the coastal region of the Pacific Northwest from Washington northwards, where it is replaced by the northwestern deer mouse (P. keeni), and Yukon in Canada, where it is replaced by the Yukon deer mouse (P. arcticus).[1]
Reproduction and life span
The species is polygynous, meaning that one male mates with multiple females.[8]
Breeding season
In Plumas County, California, deer mice bred through December in good mast (both soft and hard masts) years but ceased breeding in June of a poor mast year.[9] Deer mice breed throughout the year in the Willamette Valley, but in other areas on the Oregon coast there is usually a lull during the wettest and coldest weather.[10] In southeastern Arizona at least one-third of captured deer mice were in breeding condition in winter.[11]
Longetivity and mortality
O'Farrell reported that a population of deer mice in big sagebrush/grasslands had completely turned over (e.g., there were no surviving adults of the initial population) over the course of one summer.[12]
Predators
Deer mice are important prey for snakes (Viperidae), owls (Strigidae), minks (
References
- ^ a b c d Greenbaum, I. F.; et al. (October 2019). "Taxonomy and phylogenetics of the Peromyscus maniculatus species group". Special Publications, Texas Tech University. 71: 559–575.
- ^ "Explore the Database". www.mammaldiversity.org. Retrieved 2021-06-19.
- JSTOR 1375640.
- ^ Whitaker, John O., Jr. (1980). National Audubon Society field guide to North American mammals. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
- ^ Raphael, Martin G. (1987). Nongame wildlife research in subalpine forests of the central Rocky Mountains. In: Management of subalpine forests: building on 50 years of research: Proceedings of a technical conference; 1987 July 6–9; Silver Creek, CO. Gen. Tech. Rep. RM-149. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station: 113–122
- JSTOR 1933338.
- ^ Sullivan, Janet (1995). "Peromyscus maniculatus". Index of Species Information. Fire Effects Information System, US Forest Service. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
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- ^ Baker, Rollin H. (1968). "Habitats and distribution". In: King, John Arthur, ed. Biology of Peromyscus (Rodentia). Special Publication No. 2. Stillwater, OK: The American Society of Mammalogists 98–126.
- ^ Maser, Chris; Mate, Bruce R.; Franklin, Jerry F.; Dyrness, C. T. (1981). Natural history of Oregon Coast mammals. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-133. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station.
- JSTOR 1938209.
- JSTOR 1380131.
- PMID 1882496.