270.

Puebla Deermouse

Peromyscus mekisturus

French: Péromyscus du Puebla / German: Puebla-Hirschmaus / Spanish: Raton ciervo de Puebla

Taxonomy. Peromyscus mekisturus Merriam, 1898, Chalchicomula, 8400 ft (= 2560 m), Puebla, Mexico.

Peromyscus mekisturus is in the melanophrys species group. Recent molecular data questions whether P. mekisturus is a valid taxon or a subspecies of P. melanophrys . Monotypic.

Distribution. Known only from Chalchicomula (= Ciudad Serdan) and Tehuacan in SE Puebla, Mexico.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 87-94 mm, tail 135-155 mm, ear 17-19 mm, hindfoot 22-24 m; weight 25-58 g. The Puebla Deermouse is similar in morphology to the Plateau Deermouse (FP. melanophrys), except that the Puebla Deermouse has an extraordinarily long (c.160% of head—body length) and bicolored tail (dark and light below). Dorsum of the Puebla Deermouse is ocherous buffy to tawny, sprinkled with dusky hairs. Venter is creamy white, with plumbeous bases of hairs. It lacks darker dorsal line and longitudinal line. Nose is gray, eyes are ringed with black, and ears are large. Forefeet are white, and upper two-thirds of metatarsals are dark, but distal parts are white; feet are of averagesize.

Habitat. Pine-oak forests at elevations of 1700-2545 m.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. The Puebla Deermouse is presumably nocturnal, and given its exceptionally long tail, it is probably arboreal.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Critically Endangered on The IUCN Red List.

Bibliography. Castaneda-Rico et al. (2014), Castro-Campillo, Martinez-Paz & Ramirez-Pulido (2014), Goldman (1951), Hall (1981), Hooper (1947), Merriam (1898), Musser & Carleton (2005), Osgood (1909).