Angel Island mouse
| Angel Island Mouse | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Cricetidae |
| Genus: | Peromyscus |
| Species group: | P. eremicus |
| Species: | P. guardia |
| Binomial name | |
|
Peromyscus guardia Townsend, 1912 |
|
The Angel Island mouse or La Guarda deermouse (Peromyscus guardia) is a species of rodents in the family Cricetidae.
It is endemic to Mexico, where it is historically known only from the island of Ángel de la Guarda and nearby islets in the northwestern Gulf of California, Baja California.
The species is believed to be extirpated from the three smaller islands, and may be extinct on Ángel de la Guarda, as well. The species is threatened by predation by feral cats, and by competition from introduced rodents.
The Angel Island mouse has pale grey-brown fur with white underparts and feet, and large, hairless ears. It is most readily distinguished from closely related species on the mainland by subtle characteristics of the skull, or through genetic or biochemical analysis. Adults range from 19 to 22 cm (7.5 to 8.7 in) in total length, including tails 9 to 12 cm (3.5 to 4.7 in) long. Females have four abdominal teats.
The Angel Island mouse is endemic to Ángel de la Guarda Island, a mountainous 359 sq mi (930 km2) island off the east coast of Baja California Sur, and to three much smaller islands in the same group. Within the islands, the species appears to be confined to sandy beaches, and perhaps to rockier areas nearby, and has not been found in the high mountainous terrain that forms most of their land area.
Three subspecies are formally recognised, although two of these are now extinct:
The Angel Island mouse is believed to be descended from an isolated population of cactus mice, possibly belonging to the P. e. fraterculus species or subspecies The critically endangered San Lorenzo mouse, which inhabits a smaller group of islands to the south, may be descended from the same stock, isolated when the islands separated from the mainland as sea levels rose at the end of the last Ice Age. The two species remain able to interbreed, although it is not known whether the resulting hybrids are fertile. Little is known of the behaviour or detailed biology of the species, although it is believed to breed in the spring.
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Wikipedia