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North American Deermouse

Peromyscus maniculatus

French: Péromyscus sylvestre / German: Hirschmaus / Spanish: Raton ciervo norteamericano

Taxonomy. Hesperomys maniculatus Wagner, 1845, Moravian settlements, Labrador, Canada.

Peromyscus maniculatus is a member of the P. maniculatus species group. Recent taxonomic revisions have resulted in 16 subspecies of P. maniculatus being reassigned as subspecies of P. keeni . Fifty subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

P. m. maniculatusWagner, 1845 — SManitoba, Ontario, Quebec, andLabrador, Canada.

P.m.abietorumBangs,1896—NewBrunswickandNovaScotia,Canada,andMaine, USA.

P. m. alpinusCowan, 1937 — restrictedtoasmallregioninSEBritishColumbia, Canada

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P. m. anacapaevonBloeker, 1942 — knownonlyfromWestAnacapaIandsurroundingIs, California, USA.

P.m.angustusHall,1932—knownonlyfromSWpartofVancouverI,BritishColumbia, Canada.

P. m. anticostiensisMoulthrop, 1937 — knownonlyfromthetypelocalityonEAnticostiI, Quebec, Canada.

P. m. argentatusCopeland & Church, 1906 — knownonlyfromthetypelocalityonGrandMananI, NewBrunswick, Canada.

P.m.artemisiaeRhoads,1894—fromSCBritishColumbia,Canada,SWtoWWyoming, USA.

P. m. assimilisNelson & Goldman, 1931 — knownonlyfromthetypelocalityonCoronadoIs, BajaCalifornia, Mexico.

P. m. austerusBaird, 1855 — WCWashington, USA.

P. m. bairdiiHoy & Kennicott, 1857 — mostoftheECportionoftheUSA.

P. m. balaclavaeMcCabe & Cowan, 1945 — knownonlyfromthetypelocalityonBalaklavaI, BritishColumbia, Canada.

P.m.blandusOsgood,1904—SCUSAStoSanLuisPotosi,Guanajauto,andJalisco, Mexico.

P. m. borealisMearns, 1911 — NWCanada.

P. m. catalinaeElliot, 1903 — knownonlyfromSantaCatalinaI, California, USA.

P.m.cmenitius|.A.Allen,1898—knownonlyfromthetypelocalityonSanRoqueI, BajaCalifornia, Mexico.

P. m. clementisMearns, 1896 — knownonlyfromSanClementeI, California, USA.

P. m. coolidge: Thomas, 1898 — SBajaCaliforniaandBajaCaliforniaSur, Mexico.

P. m. dorsalisNelson & Goldman, 1931 — knownonlyfromthetypelocalityonNatividadI, BajaCalifornia, Mexico.

P.m.dubiusJ.A.Allen,1898—knownonlyfromthetypelocalityonTodosSantosI, BajaCalifornia, Mexico.

P.m.elususNelson&Goldman,1931—knownonlyfromSantaBarabaraandSutilIs, California, USA.

P. m. eremusOsgood, 1909 — knownonlyfromGrindstoneI, Quebec, Canada.

P. m. exiguusJ. A. Allen, 1898 — knownonlyfromSanMartinI, BajaCalifornia, Mexico .

P. m. exterusNelson & Goldman, 1931 — knownonlyfromthetypelocalityonSanNicolasI, California, USA.

P. m. fulvusOsgood, 1904 — fromCPueblaandVeracruzStoCOaxaca, Mexico.

P. m. gambeliiBaird, 1858 — N & WCalifornia, USA, SintoNBajaCalifornia, Mexico.

P. m. georgiensisHall, 1938 — knownonlyfromthetypelocalityonTexadaIandsurroundingIs, BritishColumbia, Canada.

P. m. geronimensisJ. A. Allen, 1898 — knownonlyfromthetypelocalityonSanGeronimoI, BajaCalifornia, Mexico.

P.m.gracilisLeConte,1855—OntarioandSQuebec,Canada,S&EtoWisconsin, Michigan, andNEUSA. FP. m. hollister: Osgood, 1909 — knownonlyfromSanJuanIandsurroundingIs, Washington, USA.

P. m. huey: Nelson & Goldman, 1932 — knownonlyfromthetypelocalityonasmallunnamedIinGonzagaBay, BajaCalifornia, Mexico.

P. m. inclarus Goldman, 1939 — known only from Fremont I in Great Salt Lake, Utah, USA.

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P.m. labecula Elliot, 1903 — from Durango S to Michoacan and Morelos, Mexico.

P. m. luteus Osgood, 1905 — from South Dakota S to W Texas, USA.

P. m. magdalenae Osgood, 1909 — Magdalena I and surrounding mainland areas, Baja California, Mexico.

P.m. margaritae Osgood, 1909 — known only from Margarita I, Baja California, Mexico. Pm. nebrascensis Coues, 1877 — from S Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada, S to NW Texas, USA.

Pm. nubiterrae Rhoads, 1896 — from W New York S to North Carolina, USA.

Pm. ozarkiarum Black, 1935 — from NE Oklahoma and SW Missouri S to W Arkansas and NC edge of Texas, USA.

P. m. pallescensJ. A. Allen, 1896 — NC to SC Texas, USA.

Pm. plumbeus C. F. Jackson, 1939 — E Quebec, Canada.

Pm. rubidus Osgood, 1901 — from SW Washington S along the Pacific Coast to C California, USA.

P. m. rufinus Merriam, 1890 — from N California S to SC Arizona and New Mexico, USA. P. m. sanctaerosae von Bloeker, 1940 — known only from Santa Rosa I, California, USA.

P.m. santacruzae Nelson & Goldman, 1931 — known only from Santa Cruz I, California, USA.

Pm. saturatus Bangs, 1897 — known only from Saturna I, British Columbia, Canada.

Pm. saxamans McCabe & Cowan, 1945 — known only from Duncan I and surrounding Is, British Columbia, Canada.

Pm. serratus Davis, 1939 — restricted to a small region in C Idaho, USA.

Pm. sonoriensis Le Conte, 1853 — from SE Oregon and S Idaho, USA, S to N edge of Sonora, Mexico.

Pm. streatori Nelson & Goldman, 1931 — known only from San Miguel I and surrounding Is, California, USA.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 75-99 mm, tail 46-123 mm, ear 12-10 mm, hindfoot 17-25 mm; weight 17-28 g. The North American Deermouse is small, with grayish buffy to reddish brown dorsum. Venter and hindfeet are white. Tail is distinctly bicolored, dark above and white below. There is tremendous variation in tail length. Individuals in north-eastern and north-western parts of the USA typically have tails at least as long as head-body lengths; individuals in the central USA and Mexico typically have tails shorter than head-body lengths. The North American Deermouse may be confused with the Black-eared Deermouse ( P. melanotis), but its coat is shorter, more hirsute, and less brilliant. Distinctive feature is that the North American Deermouse lacks dark spot at bases of ears, which is diagnostic for the Black-eared Deermouse. The North American Deermouse can also be confused with the White-footed Deermouse (FP. leucopus), especially when sympatric; however, the White-footed Deermouse is larger, its tail is not so distinctly bicolored, and it has a longer hindfoot.

Habitat. Arid shrublands and grasslands to mesic montane forests from sea level to elevations as high as 3800 m (although most capture records are below 2500 m). The North American Deermouse’s broad habitat tolerance, coupled with its presence across the USA, much of Mexico, and a number of islands in the Pacific Northwest (Canada and USA) and Baja California, Mexico, make it one of the most widely distributed rodent species in North America. Two morphological forms—long-tailed (northeastern USA, eastern Canada, and Pacific Northwest) and short-tailed (central USA and Mexico)—show preferences for different habitats. Long-tailed forms prefer old growth, boreal forests, and short-tailed forms are found in grassland and shrubland habitats. The North American Deermouse constructs burrows under rocks and fallen logs and builds circular nests with grasses and leaves.

Food and Feeding. Diet of the North American Deermouse includes seeds, vegetation, insects, snails, terrestrial slugs, and worms. In some places,it is a serious threatto forest regeneration by consuming large numbers of conifer seeds.

Breeding. North American Deermice reproduce year-round, with peak activity in June-August. If resources are sufficient, multiple litters per year are common. In temperate and cold regions, they reportedly can have nine offspring per litter and up to eleven under laboratory conditions. Gestation in non-lactating females averages 22-4-25-5 days; in lactating females, it averages 24-1-30-6 days. First estrus occurs at 48-7 days old, on average.

Activity patterns. The North American Deermouse is nocturnal and becomes active shortly after sunset and continues until midnight when activities begin to decline.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. North American Deermice are territorial, especially during breeding season. Home range has been estimated at 360-5868 m2,

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Neverthe-less, island populations of North American Deermouse have small geographical distributions and fragile habitats; thus, they are more vulnerable and should be monitored.

Bibliography. Allard & Greenbaum (1988), Allard et al. (1987), Banfield (1974), Calhoun & Greenbaum (1991), Carleton et al. (1982), Drickamer & Bernstein (1972), Drickamer & Vestal (1973), Hall (1981), Hogan et al. (1993), Hooper (1947), Koestner (1944),Millar (1989), Musser & Carleton (2005), Osgood (1909), Pergams et al. (2000), Ramirez-Pulido, Sanchez et al. (2014), Sullivan et al. (1990), Wood et al. (2010), Zheng Xiaoguang et al. (2003).