Eva's desert mouse

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Eva's desert mouse
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Cricetidae
Genus: Peromyscus
Species group: P. eremicus
Species: P. eva
Binomial name
Peromyscus eva
Thomas, 1898

Eva's desert mouse (Peromyscus eva) is a species of rodents in the genus Peromyscus of the family Cricetidae found only in Mexico.[2]

Description

Eva's desert mouse measures 19 cm (7.5 in) from head to rump, on average, and has a 10 cm (3.9 in) tail. They weigh between 13 and 20 grams (0.46 and 0.71 oz). The fur is russet or buff in color over most of the body, with pale grey markings on the nose, cheeks, and around the eyes. The ears are pale brown and almost hairless, and the underparts creamy white. It can most clearly be distinguished from the cactus mouse, which is found in the same geographical region, by the shape of the baculum, although it is also typically darker in color, and with a longer tail.[3]

Little is known of the animal's biology, although it is usually found close to succulent plants, and appears to breed between February and July.[3]

Distribution and habitat

Eva's desert mouse lives only in the southern part of the Baja California peninsula in Mexico. Within this region, it inhabits scrubland habitats below 1,800 m (5,900 ft) dominated by plants such as cholla, Jatropha, and organ-pipe cactus, and in agricultural land.[3] Two subspecies have been identified:

  • Peromyscus eva eva - Mainland Baja California Sur
  • Peromyscus eva carmeni - Carmen Island, in the Bahía de Loreto National Park


References

  1. ↑ Álvarez-Castañeda, S.T. & Castro-Arellano, I. (2008). Peromyscus eva. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 3 September 2009. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of least concern.
  2. ↑ Musser, G. G. and M. D. Carleton. 2005. Superfamily Muroidea. Pp. 894-1531 in Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder eds. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Álvarez-Castañeda, S.T. & Cortés-Calva, P. (2003). "Peromyscus eva". Mammalian Species: Number 738: pp. 1 – 3. doi:10.1644/738. 
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