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deer mouse


n.

A North American mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) having white feet and underparts, and a long, bicolored tail.


 
 
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: deer mouse

Any of about 60 species (genus Peromyscus, family Cricetidae) of small, delicate rodents that are active at night and are found in habitats from Alaska to South America. They often outnumber all other mammals in an area. Deer mice are 3 – 6.5 in. (8 – 17 cm) long (excluding the long tail) and have large eyes, soft fur, and relatively large ears. Colours range from white to brown or blackish, with white underparts and feet. They eat plant and animal matter and nest in burrows or trees. Clean, easily cared for, and prolific, they are often used as laboratory animals.

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WordNet: deer mouse
Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: brownish New World mouse; most widely distributed member of the genus
  Synonym: Peromyscus maniculatus

 
Wikipedia: Peromyscus
Peromyscus
Fossil range: Late Miocene - Recent
Peromyscus maniculatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Superfamily: Muroidea
Family: Cricetidae
Subfamily: Neotominae
Genus: Peromyscus
Gloger, 1841
species

See text.

The genus Peromyscus contains species commonly referred to as deer mice. This is a genus of New World mouse only distantly related to the common house mouse, Mus musculus. The most common species of deer mouse in the continental United States are two closely related species, P. maniculatus, and P. leucopus. In the USA, Peromyscus is also the most populous mammalian species overall.[1]

The genus Peromyscus has been an important model in the studies of phylogeography, speciation, chromosomes, genetics, and evolution in general. In recent years, it has become notorious in the western United States as a carrier of the hantavirus.

There is a different mammal by the name of "Mouse Deer," a relatively primitive ungulate of minuscule size. The deer mouse is common in the American Southwest, particularly in New Mexico, where the species is known to carry Hantavirus.

Species

External links


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Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Peromyscus".  Read more

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