Peromyscus maniculatus
| Peromyscus maniculatus | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Cricetidae |
| Genus: | Peromyscus |
| Species: | P. maniculatus |
| Binomial name | |
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Peromyscus maniculatus (Wagner, 1845) |
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Peromyscus maniculatus is a rodent native to North America. It is most commonly called the deer mouse, although that name is common to most species of Peromyscus, and thus is often called the North American deermouse and is fairly widespread across the continent, with the major exception being the southeast United States and the far north.
Like other Peromyscus species, it is a vector and carrier of emerging infectious diseases such as hantaviruses and Lyme disease.
It is closely related to Peromyscus leucopus, the white-footed mouse.
The scientific name for a deer mouse is Peromyscus. The species has 56 subspecies. They are all tiny mammals that are plentiful in number. The deer mouse is described as a small rodent that lives in the Americas and is closely related to the white-footed mouse, Peromyscus leucopus. Because the two species are extremely similar in appearance, they are best distinguished through red blood cell agglutination tests or karyotype techniques. The deer mouse can also be distinguished physically by its long and multicolored tail. Deer mice are very often used for laboratory experimentation due to their self cleanliness and easy care.
The deer mouse is small in size, only 3 to 4 inches (8 to 10 cm) long, not including the tail. They have large beady eyes and large ears giving them good sight and hearing. Their soft fur can vary in color, from white to black, but all deer mice have a distinguishable white underside and white feet.
Deer mice are nocturnal creatures who spend the day time in areas such as trees or burrows where they have nests made of plant material. The pups within litters of deer mice are kept by the mother within an individual home range. The deer mice do not mingle in groups with their litters. During the development stages, the mice within one litter interact much more than mice of two different litters. Although deer mice live in individual home ranges, these ranges do tend to overlap. When overlapping occurs, it is more likely to be with opposite sexes rather than with the same sex. Deer mice that live within overlapping home ranges tend to recognize one another and interact a lot.
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Wikipedia