Peromyscus schmidlyi
| Peromyscus schmidlyi | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Synapsida |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Cricetidae |
| Genus: | Peromyscus |
| Species: | P. schmidlyi |
| Binomial name | |
|
Peromyscus schmidlyi Bradley et al., 2004 |
|
Schmidly's deer mouse (Peromyscus schmidlyi), 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.
The name "Schmidly's deer mouse" is ambiguous, as it is shared by another species, Habromys schmidlyi.
P. schmidlyi, or Schmidly's deermouse, is a typical deer mouse, and can only be reliably distinguished from other members of its species group by DNA analysis.
It is 18 to 21 cm (7.1 to 8.3 in) in length, with a tail 7 to 10 cm (2.8 to 3.9 in) long. The fur is reddish umber over most of the body, becoming almost white on the under parts. The feet have a grey stripe extending past the ankle, and white toes. The tail is dark and bears only coarse, sparse hair, except for a tuft at the tip. It is similar in appearance to the nimble-footed mouse, but is usually larger and darker in color.
Like all deermice, P. schmidlyli has 16 total teeth (i 1/1, c 0/0, p 0/0, m 3/3), and the males have scrotal testes.
The dilated body description is shown below.
Basic data of P. schmidlyi from Sonora
(mm)
Total length
179.5±14.76
Length of tail
86.0±8.57
Length of hind foot
19.4±1.06
Length of ear
19.5±0.93
Length of skull
26.2±1.22
12.9±0.43
Breadth of brain case
12.1±0.30
Depth of cranium
9.4±0.27
Interorbital breadth
4.2±0.15
Breadth of rostrum
4.2±0.20
Length of rostrum
10.4±0.62
Length of palate
4.0±0.33
Length of molar toothrow
4.2±0.19
Length of incisive foramen
...
Wikipedia