Peromyscus maniculatus
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2008-05-30T05:00:52Z
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{{Taxobox
| name = Deer Mouse
| status = LR/lc
| image = Peromyscus_maniculatus.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordata]]
| classis = [[Mammal]]ia
| ordo = [[Rodent]]ia
| familia = [[Cricetidae]]
| subfamilia = [[Neotominae]]
| genus = ''[[Peromyscus]]''
| species = '''''P. maniculatus'''''
| binomial = ''Peromyscus maniculatus''
| binomial_authority = (Wagner, [[1845]])
}}
'''''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 is fairly widespread across the continent, with the major exception being the southeast United States and the far north.
This mouse is a known carrier of [[Hantavirus]], which can be transmitted to humans.
It is closely related to ''[[Peromyscus leucopus]]'', the White-footed Mouse.
== Overview ==
The scientific name for a deer mouse is ''Peromyscus maniculatus''.<ref name="Britannica">The New Encyclopedia Britannica. 2007. (Vol. 12, p. 631). Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica.</ref> The ''Peromyscus maniculatus'' has 66 subspecies.<ref name="Rodents">Hanney, Peter W. Rodents: Their Lives and Habits. New York: Taplinger Publishing Company, 1975.</ref> They are all tiny mammals that are plentiful in number.<ref name="Sierra">Jameson, E W. "Food of Deer Mice, Peromyscus maniculatus and P. boylei, in the Northern Sierra Nevada, California." Journal of Mammalogy 33.1 (1952): 50-60. JSTOR. 18 Oct. 2007 http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-2372%28195202%2933%3A1%3C50%3AFODMPM%3E2.0.CO%3B2-A.</ref> 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]]''.<ref name="Britannica">The New Encyclopedia Britannica. 2007. (Vol. 12, p. 631). Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica.</ref> Because the two species are extremely similar in appearance, they can be distinguished through red blood cell agglutination tests or karyotype techniques. The deer mouse can then be distinguished physically by its long and multicolored tail.<ref name="PCR">[Tessier, Nathalie, Sarah Noel, and Francois Lapointe. "A new method to discriminate the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) from the white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) using species-specific primers in multiplex PCR." Canadian Journal of Zoology 82.11 (2004): 1832-35. Academic Search Elite. EBSCOhost. UWSP Library. 12 Oct. 2007 http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf?vid=5&hid=102&sid=0d09f197-c6e0-40c7-9e42-e3a4b774cd2a%40sessionmgr108.</ref> Deer mice are very often used for laboratory experimentation due to their self cleanliness and easy care.<ref name="Britannica">[The New Encyclopedia Britannica. 2007. (Vol. 12, p. 631). Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica.]</ref>
== Physical description ==
The deer mouse is small in size, only 3 to 6.5 inches long, but can become longer with the length of their tail. They have large beady eyes and ears to increase their ability of [[sight]] and [[hearing]]. Their soft fur ranges in many colors, from white to black, but all deer mice have a distinguishable white underside and white feet. <ref name="Britannica">The New Encyclopedia Britannica. 2007. (Vol. 12, p. 631). Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica.</ref>
== Behavior ==
Deer mice are [[nocturnal]] creatures who spend the day time in areas such as trees or burrows where they have nests made of [[plants]].<ref name="Britannica">The New Encyclopedia Britannica. 2007. (Vol. 12, p. 631). Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica.</ref> The individual litters of deer mice are contained by the female mother in 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, they do tend to overlap. When overlapping of home ranges occures, it is more likely to be with opposite sexes compared to the overlapping of the same sex. Deer mice that live within overlapping home ranges tend to recongnize one another and interact a lot.<ref name="Kinship">Dewsbury, Donald. "Kinship, Familiarity, Aggression, and Dominance in Deer Mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) in Seminatural Enclosures." Journal of Comparative Psychology 102.2 (1988). PsycARTICLES. EBSCO Host. 25 Oct. 2007 http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,cookie,url,uid&db=pdh&AH=com-102-2-124&site=ehost-live.</ref>
== Reproduction ==
In a study, less than half of both male and female deer mice left their original home range to reproduce. This means that there is intrafamilial mating and that the gene flow among deer mice as a whole is limited.<ref name="Winter">Wolff, Jerry, and Deborah Durr. "Winter Nesting Behavior of Peromyscus leucopus and Peromyscus maniculatus." Journal of Mammalogy 67.2 (1986): 409-12. JSTOR. 25 Oct. 2007 http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici-0022-2372%28198605%2967%3A2%3C409%3AWNBOPL%3E2.0.CO%3B2-F.</ref> The female deer mouse can reproduce at all times of the year. Deer mice reproduce profusely and are highest in numbers among their species compared to other local [[mammals]]. Each litter contains about four mice that develop in the mother for approximately one month.<ref name="Britannica">The New Encyclopedia Britannica. 2007. (Vol. 12, p. 631). Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica.</ref> The male deer mice are allowed by the female to help nest the litter and keep them together and warm for survival.<ref name="Rodents">Hanney, Peter W. Rodents: Their Lives and Habits. New York: Taplinger Publishing Company, 1975.</ref>
== Habitat ==
''Peromyscus maniculatus'' are found in places including [[Alaska]], [[Canada]], and parts of [[South America]].<ref name="Britannica">The New Encyclopedia Britannica. 2007. (Vol. 12, p. 631). Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica.</ref> The majority of deer mice nest in large hollow trees up high. The deer mouse will nest alone on most occasions but will sometimes nest with a deer mouse of the opposite sex.<ref name="Winter">Wolff, Jerry, and Deborah Durr. "Winter Nesting Behavior of Peromyscus leucopus and Peromyscus maniculatus." Journal of Mammalogy 67.2 (1986): 409-12. JSTOR. 25 Oct. 2007 http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici-0022-2372%28198605%2967%3A2%3C409%3AWNBOPL%3E2.0.CO%3B2-F.</ref> They are popular in the western mountains and live in wooded areas and areas that were at one point previously wooded. The deer mouse is generally a nocturnal creature.<ref name="Sierra">Jameson, E W. "Food of Deer Mice, Peromyscus maniculatus and P. boylei, in the Northern Sierra Nevada, California." Journal of Mammalogy 33.1 (1952): 50-60. JSTOR. 18 Oct. 2007 http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-2372%28195202%2933%3A1%3C50%3AFODMPM%3E2.0.CO%3B2-A.</ref> Deer mice can be found active on top of snow or underneath logs during the winter seasons.<ref name="Rodents">Hanney, Peter W. Rodents: Their Lives and Habits. New York: Taplinger Publishing Company, 1975.</ref>
== Disease ==
It has been reported that the deer mouse can carry a [[virus]] that is deadly to humans through their feces and urine.<ref name="Deadly">"It's Official--The Deer Mouse Is Deadly." Newsmagazine 18 July 1994: 43+ . Academic Search Elite. EBSCOhost. UWSP Library. 12 Oct. 2007 http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,cookie,url,uid&db=afh&AN=9408117667&site=ehost-live.</ref> The deer mouse is known to carry diseases that are able to pass on to many other animals. One disease is the [[Sin Nombre virus]] (SNV). This virus is part of the [[Hantavirus]] genus. The deer mouse can be infected and is a primary reservoir host to SNV. This virus in a deer mouse contain viral antigens in the organ of the [[lungs]], [[liver]], [[kidneys]], and [[spleen]]. The transmission on the virus is said to occur through urine and it is thought that transmission during the early stages is highest in the infection. <ref name="">Netski, Dale, Brandonlyn Thran, and Stephen St. Jeor. "Sin Nombre Virus Pathogenesis in Peromyscus maniculatus." Journal of Virology 73.1 (1999): 585- 591. Biological & Agricultural. Wilson Web. 25 Oct. 2007 http://jvi.asm.org/cgi/reprint/73/1/585.</ref> A recent study in British Columbia, of 218 Deer mice showed that 30% (66) were seropositive for B. burgdorferi<ref>[http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/publicat/ccdr-rmtc/08vol34/dr-rm3401a-eng.php Canada Communicable Disease Report (CCDR) - Vol.34 CCDR-01 - Public Health Agency of Canada<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>, the causative agent of Lyme Disease.
== Diet ==
The deer mice feed on seeds, fruits, [[arthropods]], leaves, and [[fungi]]; fungi has the least amount of intake. Through out the year, the deer mouse will change it's eating habbits to reflect on what is available to eat during that season. During winter months, the arthropods compose of one-fifth of the deer mouse's food. These include spiders, caterpillars, and [[heteropterans]]. During the spring months, seeds become available to eat along with insects which are consumed in large quantities. Leaves are also found in the stomachs of deer mice in the spring seasons. During summer months, the mouse consumes seeds and fruits. During the fall season, the deer mice will slowly change it's eating habits to resemble the winter's diet.<ref name="Sierra">Jameson, E W. "Food of Deer Mice, Peromyscus maniculatus and P. boylei, in the Northern Sierra Nevada, California." Journal of Mammalogy 33.1 (1952): 50-60. JSTOR. 18 Oct. 2007 http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-2372%28195202%2933%3A1%3C50%3AFODMPM%3E2.0.CO%3B2-A.</ref>
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
* [http://www.nsrl.ttu.edu/tmot1/peromani.htm Description of species]
* [http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Peromyscus_maniculatus.html Additional description of species with photos]
* [http://www.discoverlife.org/nh/tx/Vertebrata/Mammalia/Muridae/Peromyscus/maniculatus/ Additional information on species]
* [http://www.doh.wa.gov/EHSPHL/factsheet/hanta.htm Information on hantaviruses, which can be carried by this species]
* {{IUCN2006|assessors=Baillie|year=1996|id=16672|title=Peromyscus maniculatus|downloaded=12 May 2006}}
[[Category:Neotominae]]
[[Category:Mammals of North America| ]]
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