235.

Eastern Harvest Mouse

Reithrodontomys humulis

French: Souris-moissonneuse de I'Est / German: Ostliche Erntemaus / Spanish: Raton espiguero oriental

Taxonomy. Mus humulis Audubon & Bachman, 1841, vicinity of Charleston, Charleston County, South Carolina, USA.

Reithrodontomys humulis is in subgenus Reithrodontomys . Three subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

R.h.humulisAudubon&Bachman,1841—fromextremeNEArkansas,Mississippi,andSELouisianaEtoCVirginiaandStoSCFlorida(SEUSA).

R.h.merriamiJ.A.Allen,1895—EOklahoma,ETexas,WArkansas,andW&SCLouisiana(SUSA).

R. h. virginianus A. H. Howell, 1940 — SW Maryland and E Virginia (E USA).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 62-68 mm, tail 45-60 mm, ear 8-9 mm, hindfoot 15-17 mm; weight 7-12 g. The Eastern Harvest Mouse is among the smallest species of Reithrodontomys . Dorsum is brownish to dark brown, sometimes faintly washed with gray, and has dark mid-dorsal stripe. Sides are paler than dorsum and usually have lateral line stripe. Venter is ash-colored, with cinnamon or pinkish infusion. Tail is slender and sparsely haired. Ears are fuscous or fuscous black, and feet are grayish white.

Habitat. Wooded or grassland habitats with dense understory, old fields, abandoned fields, and croplands.

Food and Feeding. The Eastern Harvest Mouse eats seeds, green vegetation, and insects.

Breeding. The Eastern Harvest Mouse has reproductive peaks in spring and autumn. Gestation is c.21 days, and litters have 1-8 young.

Activity patterns. The Eastern Harvest Mouse is presumably nocturnal.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Mean home ranges are 905-1 m? for males and 1094-5 m* for females. Eastern Harvest Mice are not thought to be territorial.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List.

Bibliography. Allen (1895a), Audubon & Bachman (1841), Cawthorn & Rose (1989), Dunaway (1968), Hooper (1952a), Howell (1914, 1940), Packard (1968), Stalling (1997).