deer mouse
n.
A North American mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) having white feet and underparts, and a long, bicolored tail.
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A North American mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) having white feet and underparts, and a long, bicolored tail.
For more information on deer mouse, visit Britannica.com.
The noun has one meaning:
Meaning #1:
brownish New World mouse; most widely distributed member of the genus
Synonym: Peromyscus maniculatus
| Peromyscus Fossil range: Late Miocene - Recent |
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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.
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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 |