Chadwick Beach Cotton Mouse
Encyclopedia
The Chadwick Beach Cotton Mouse (Peromyscus gossypinus restrictus) is a presumed extinct subspecies of the Cotton Mouse
Cotton Mouse
The Cotton Mouse is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae.It is found in the woodlands of the south-eastern states of the United States. Adults are about 7-8 inches, and have an appearance very similar to the white footed mouse. The cotton mouse is larger in size and has a longer...

 (Peromyscus gossypinus) from the genus Peromyscus. It was confined to a small area on the Manasota Key
Manasota Key, Florida
Manasota Key is a census-designated place in Charlotte County, Florida, United States. The population was 1,345 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Punta Gorda Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Manasota Key is located at ....

 peninsula in Florida.

Description

The Chadwick Beach Cotton Mouse was smaller and paler than the nominate race. The total length was 172 mm, the tail length 72.5 mm, the hind foot length 22.3 mm, the ear length 22.3 mm and largest skull length was 27.6 mm. The zygomatic breadth was 13.9 mm, the preorbital breadth was 4.4 mm, the nasal length was 10.9 mm and the length of the teeth in the maxilla was 3.9 mm. The upperparts were pink cinnamon with a rufous hue in the middle of the back. The underparts were white with a pale pink buff wash on the chest. The tail was brown above and buff below. The dorsal stripe in the middle of the back was smaller than in the nominate race.

Distribution

The mouse was primarily found in the Chadwick Beach area at Englewood in Sarasota County and Englewood Beach located in the southern part of Englewood, Florida
Englewood, Florida
Englewood is a census-designated place in Charlotte and Sarasota counties in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2000 census, it had a population of 16,196.Englewood also was the original name for Vineland, Florida...

 in Charlotte County
Charlotte County, Florida
Charlotte County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 141,627. In 2005, the population of the MSA was 154,030.The U.S. Census Bureau 2007 estimate for the county was 152,814...

.

Habitat and ecology

The Chadwick Beach Cotton Mouse preferred maritime forest
Maritime forest
A maritime forest is an ocean coastal wooded habitat found on higher ground than dune areas within range of salt spray. They can be found along the Atlantic coast of the United States...

s with a closed canopy. Characteristic trees of these forests are Sabal palmetto
Sabal palmetto
Sabal palmetto, also known as cabbage palm, palmetto, cabbage palmetto, palmetto palm, blue palmetto, Carolina palmetto, common palmetto, swamp cabbage and sabal palm, is one of 15 species of palmetto palm . It is native to the southeastern United States, Cuba, and the Bahamas...

, Quercus virginiana, and Juniperus virginiana
Juniperus virginiana
Juniperus virginiana is a species of juniper native to eastern North America, from southeastern Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, east of the Great Plains...

var. silicicola. It was also found on sand dunes where sea oats
Sea oats
Uniola paniculata, or Sea oats, is a species of grass that grows along the East Coast and the Gulf Coast of the United States, Mexico, and on islands in the Caribbean.-Description:...

(Uniola paniculata) a high growing grass species is the dominating vegetation. Like the nominate race the Chadwick Beach Cotton Mouse was nocturnal. The ecology of this subspecies is not studied.

Extinction

The Chadwick Beach Cotton Mouse is only known by 15 specimens collected by Luther C. Goldman in March 1938. It is now presumed extinct after extensive surveys in 1984, 1985, 1988 and 1989 failed to find this mouse again. Causes for its disappearance might have been the deforestion of the maritime forests in the southernmost of the Sarasota County as well as the predation by feral cats.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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