What Kind Of Wild Mice Are These?

10 years ago

Here are two wonderful mice I photographed in my back yard in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Is the one on the left an adult Deer Mouse ( Peromyscus maniculatus ) and the one on the right a juvenile? Are they White-Footed Mice (Peromyscus leucopus), again an adult and a juvenile? Are they two different species, the one on the left a Deer Mouse or White-Footed and the one on the right a House Mouse (Mus musculus)? I would appreciate any rodent experts here helping me clear this up! Thanks!

This post was edited by Box_Turtle on Tue, Feb 11, 14 at 15:22

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Comments (10)

User
10 years ago
They both look like Peromyscus, and the tail looks bicolored enough to be a deer mouse in the first animal. But, as far as I know, that characteristic doesn't work in all parts of the country.

The second looks like a young individual so I'm not comfortable saying which of the two species it is.

If they were my photos, I would probably label them both P. maniculatus since that is what the first one looks more like and the other one is likely to be the same if it was from the same habitat and area.

Fortunately, you live in a part of the country where it can only be one of those two species. It gets a lot tougher in other areas where there are three or four species of Peromyscus to consider!
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Box_Turtle
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks so much for the thorough answer. You stated, "it can only be one of those two species." So zero chance that the gentleman on the right is Mus musculus?
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User
10 years ago
There's always a chance ...

In favor of house mouse:
Color is more house mousy then deer mouse
Ears aren't as well-furred at the base of the opening
Eyes are smallish relative to skull
Photo taken near human dwelling

In favor of deer mouse:
Ears are large relative to skull
Judging from the taper on the tail, it's relatively long
Color is greyish, but still within species variation for deer mouse
Photo taken outdoors

===========

Just as birders have their LBBs (little brown birds), animal photographers have the LMCs (little mouselike critters)
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User
10 years ago
I am very confident that neither of them are Mus. The ears are too large, the eyes too large, the pelage looks too soft and the tail is too hairy.
Also, Mus aren't usually bicolored (gray above/white below), particularly on the head and throat region and the contrasty white feet.

In my experience catching rodents, Peromyscus just don't "look like" Mus. Reithrodontomys (harvest mice) do look a bit more like Mus, but Peromyscus is a bigger, "cuter" looking rodent. These are Peromyscus.

This post was edited by FHFchrish on Sun, Sep 1, 13 at 17:00
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Box_Turtle
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks again FHF! I appreciate your efforts and your expertise! Are you a zoologist or a naturalist or the administrator of this site or something? Just curious but please pardon me if IÃ¢ÂÂm being too nosy.
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User
10 years ago
Although I teach anatomy for a living, I have a lot of time in the field looking for birds and herps. I also have a fair bit of experience trapping rodents for research projects.
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Box_Turtle
Original Author
10 years ago
Interesting! Thanks for satiating my curiosity! I keep hoping a shrew will stop by to eat some seeds or maybe some fallen suit in the winter. I'm standing by with my camera!
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Box_Turtle
Original Author
10 years ago
Interesting! Thanks for satiating my curiosity! I keep hoping a shrew will stop by to eat some seeds or maybe some fallen suit in the winter. I'm standing by with my camera!
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User
10 years ago
BTW - is that some sort of rodent photo blind you have set up? Just wondered how you go those shots.
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Box_Turtle
Original Author
10 years ago
It's actually through a window in a storage shed if you can consider that a "photo blind." :)
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