Canyon mouse | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Rodentia |
Family: | Cricetidae |
Genus: | Peromyscus |
Species group: | P. crinitus |
Species: | P. crinitus |
Binomial name | |
Peromyscus crinitus (Merriam, 1891) |
The canyon mouse (Peromyscus crinitus), is a gray-brown mouse found in many states of the western United States and northern Mexico. Its preferred habitat is arid, rocky desert. It is the only species in the Peromyscus crinitus species group.
Canyon mice eat seeds, green vegetation, and insects. They breed in the spring and summer. Females can produce multiple litters of between two and five young every year. Canyon mice are nocturnal and are active through the year. They usually nest among or below rocks in underground burrows.