Mexican Deer Mouse
Encyclopedia
The Mexican deer mouse (Peromyscus mexicanus) is a species of forest-dwelling rodent
in the family Cricetidae
. It is found in southern Mexico
and throughout much of Central America
.
-like animals with narrow, slightly elongated, heads and long tails. They have a combined head and body length of 9 to 12 cm (3.5 to 4.7 in), and a tail 10 to 13 cm (3.9 to 5.1 in) long.
The fur is soft, short, and generally rufous or russet in color. However, the general body color varies with geographic location, and with the time of year, being generally paler in drier climates or during dry seasons. At the extremes, it may vary from nearly black to pale grey.
The underparts and feet are creamy white, with brown or rufous fur on the upper parts of the limbs. There is a patch of almost blackish fur at the base of the whiskers, and a dark ring around the eyes. The fur on the tail is sparse and very short, making it almost invisible on casual examination; a feature that distinguishes the Mexican deer mouse from almost all other species of Peromyscus.
, reaching as far north as San Luis Potosi
in the east and the Guerrero
-Oaxaca
border in the west. It is also found in the central and Pacific coastal regions of Central America, including Costa Rica
, El Salvador
, Guatemala
, Honduras
, and Nicaragua
. At the extreme southern end of its range it reaches the western border regions of Panama
.
It is a forest dwelling species, and is more common in deep forest than along woodland edges. It is especially common where limestone
cliffs or boulders provide plentiful ground cover, but, in general, it is among the most commonly encountered mammals in the dense forests of Central America and southern Mexico. It is also relatively common in coffee
and cacao plantations.
, feeding on both seeds and invertebrates. They eat a wide variety of seeds, including plum
s, mango
s, coffee beans, and acorn
s, as well as those from various local species of Solanaceae
and Asteraceae
. The invertebrates eaten are mainly beetle
s, spider
s, ant
s, and grasshopper
s.
period of 28 to 32 days. Litters consist of between one and four young (usually two or three), and the female enters estrus again immediately after giving birth. The young first begin to develop hair at around six days, by which time they are able to crawl about, although they are not fully mobile until around twelve days. Adults reach sexual maturity at between 46 and 77 days old, but a female typically only gives birth to one or two litters during her lifetime.
. Genetic analysis has shown that its closest relatives are the Yucatan
, Guatemalan
, Chiapan
, and naked-eared
deer mice. Indeed, these were so similar genetically that the Mexican deermouse may be paraphyletic with respect to some or all of the other named species.
Seven sub-species of Mexican deer mouse are currently recognised:
Rodent
Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
in the family Cricetidae
Cricetidae
The Cricetidae are a family of rodents in the large and complex superfamily Muroidea. It includes true hamsters, voles, lemmings, and New World rats and mice...
. It is found in southern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and throughout much of Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
.
Description
Mexican deer mice are moderately sized mouseMouse
A mouse is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse . It is also a popular pet. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common. This rodent is eaten by large birds such as hawks and eagles...
-like animals with narrow, slightly elongated, heads and long tails. They have a combined head and body length of 9 to 12 cm (3.5 to 4.7 in), and a tail 10 to 13 cm (3.9 to 5.1 in) long.
The fur is soft, short, and generally rufous or russet in color. However, the general body color varies with geographic location, and with the time of year, being generally paler in drier climates or during dry seasons. At the extremes, it may vary from nearly black to pale grey.
The underparts and feet are creamy white, with brown or rufous fur on the upper parts of the limbs. There is a patch of almost blackish fur at the base of the whiskers, and a dark ring around the eyes. The fur on the tail is sparse and very short, making it almost invisible on casual examination; a feature that distinguishes the Mexican deer mouse from almost all other species of Peromyscus.
Distribution and habitat
The Mexican deer mouse inhabits the tropical lowlands of southern MexicoMexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, reaching as far north as San Luis Potosi
San Luis Potosí
San Luis Potosí officially Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and its capital city is San Luis Potosí....
in the east and the Guerrero
Guerrero
Guerrero officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Guerrero is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo....
-Oaxaca
Oaxaca
Oaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...
border in the west. It is also found in the central and Pacific coastal regions of Central America, including Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
, El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
, Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
, and Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
. At the extreme southern end of its range it reaches the western border regions of Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
.
It is a forest dwelling species, and is more common in deep forest than along woodland edges. It is especially common where limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
cliffs or boulders provide plentiful ground cover, but, in general, it is among the most commonly encountered mammals in the dense forests of Central America and southern Mexico. It is also relatively common in coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
and cacao plantations.
Ecology
Mexican deermice live in burrows in areas with substantial cover, such as fallen logs, tree roots, or dense undergrowth. Densities of up to 50 individuals per hectare have been reported, but can be much lower where food is less abundant. The home range of individual Mexican deer mice has been estimated at over 0.5 hectares (1.2 acre). They are omnivorousOmnivore
Omnivores are species that eat both plants and animals as their primary food source...
, feeding on both seeds and invertebrates. They eat a wide variety of seeds, including plum
Plum
A plum or gage is a stone fruit tree in the genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus. The subgenus is distinguished from other subgenera in the shoots having a terminal bud and solitary side buds , the flowers in groups of one to five together on short stems, and the fruit having a groove running down one...
s, mango
Mango
The mango is a fleshy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The mango is native to India from where it spread all over the world. It is also the most cultivated fruit of the tropical world. While...
s, coffee beans, and acorn
Acorn
The acorn, or oak nut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives . It usually contains a single seed , enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne in a cup-shaped cupule. Acorns vary from 1–6 cm long and 0.8–4 cm broad...
s, as well as those from various local species of Solanaceae
Solanaceae
Solanaceae are a family of flowering plants that include a number of important agricultural crops as well as many toxic plants. The name of the family comes from the Latin Solanum "the nightshade plant", but the further etymology of that word is unclear...
and Asteraceae
Asteraceae
The Asteraceae or Compositae , is an exceedingly large and widespread family of vascular plants. The group has more than 22,750 currently accepted species, spread across 1620 genera and 12 subfamilies...
. The invertebrates eaten are mainly beetle
Beetle
Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...
s, spider
Spider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
s, ant
Ant
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...
s, and grasshopper
Grasshopper
The grasshopper is an insect of the suborder Caelifera in the order Orthoptera. To distinguish it from bush crickets or katydids, it is sometimes referred to as the short-horned grasshopper...
s.
Reproduction
Mexican deer mice breed throughout the year, and have a gestationGestation
Gestation is the carrying of an embryo or fetus inside a female viviparous animal. Mammals during pregnancy can have one or more gestations at the same time ....
period of 28 to 32 days. Litters consist of between one and four young (usually two or three), and the female enters estrus again immediately after giving birth. The young first begin to develop hair at around six days, by which time they are able to crawl about, although they are not fully mobile until around twelve days. Adults reach sexual maturity at between 46 and 77 days old, but a female typically only gives birth to one or two litters during her lifetime.
Classification
The Mexican deer mouse belongs to the mexicanus species group within the genus PeromyscusPeromyscus
The genus Peromyscus contains the animal species commonly referred to as deer mice. This is a genus of New World mouse only distantly related to the common house mouse and laboratory mouse, Mus musculus...
. Genetic analysis has shown that its closest relatives are the Yucatan
Yucatan Deer Mouse
The Yucatan Deer Mouse is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. The species is found in Mexico and Guatemala; an example habitat is the Petenes mangroves ecoregion of the Yucatan.-References:...
, Guatemalan
Guatemalan Deer Mouse
The Guatemalan Deer Mouse is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae.It is found in Guatemala and Mexico.-References:* Baillie, J. 1996. . Downloaded on 19 July 2007....
, Chiapan
Chiapan Deer Mouse
The Chiapan Deer Mouse is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae.It is found only in Mexico.-References:* Baillie, J. 1996. . Downloaded on 19 July 2007....
, and naked-eared
Naked-Eared Deer Mouse
The Naked-eared Deer Mouse is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae.It is found in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua.-References:* Baillie, J. 1996. . Downloaded on 19 July 2007....
deer mice. Indeed, these were so similar genetically that the Mexican deermouse may be paraphyletic with respect to some or all of the other named species.
Seven sub-species of Mexican deer mouse are currently recognised:
- P. m. mexicanus - VeracruzVeracruzVeracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave , is one of the 31 states that, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided in 212 municipalities and its capital city is...
- P. m. angelensis - OaxacaOaxacaOaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...
coastal lowlands - P. m. azulensis - JuchitánJuchitán District, OaxacaJuchitán District is located in the east of the Istmo de Tehuantepec region of the State of Oaxaca, Mexico, covering the southern part of a low lying corridor through the mountains that separates the Gulf of Mexico from the Pacific ocean....
highlands, Oaxaca - P. m. putlaensis - Putla District, OaxacaPutla District, OaxacaPutla District is located in the west of the Sierra Sur Region of the State of Oaxaca, Mexico.-Municipalities:The district includes the following municipalities:*Constancia del Rosario*La Reforma, Oaxaca*Mesones Hidalgo*Putla Villa de Guerrero...
- P. m. saxatilis - Central America
- P. m. teapensis - TabascoTabascoTabasco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tabasco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa....
- P. m. totontepecus - Sierra Norte de OaxacaSierra Norte de OaxacaLa Sierra Norte de Oaxaca is a heavily-wooded region in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico.It is 62 km from the city of Oaxaca on Federal highway 175, heading east towards Tuxtepec....