- Peromyscus
-
Not to be confused with mouse deer.
Peromyscus
Temporal range: Late Miocene – Recent
Peromyscus maniculatus Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Rodentia Family: Cricetidae Subfamily: Neotominae Genus: Peromyscus
Gloger, 1841species See text.
The genus Peromyscus contains the animal species commonly referred to as deer mice. This is a genus of New World mouse only distantly related to the common house mouse and laboratory mouse, Mus musculus. Although superficially resembling Mus musculus, Peromyscus have relatively larger eyes, and also often two-tone coloring, with darker colors over the dorsum (back), and white abdominal and limb hair-coloring. In reference to the coloring, the word Peromyscus comes from Greek words meaning "booted mouse".[1]
They are also accomplished jumpers and runners by comparison to house mice, and their common name of "deer mouse" (coined 1833) is in reference to this agility.[2]
The most common species of deer mice in the continental United States are two closely related species, P. maniculatus, and P. leucopus. In the USA, Peromyscus is the most populous mammalian genus overall, and has become notorious in the western United States as a carrier of the hantavirus.[3][4]
There is a different mammal by the name of "Mouse Deer", a relatively primitive ungulate of minuscule size.
Contents
Vector of human disease
Hantavirus
The deer mouse came to the attention of the public when it was discovered to be the primary reservoir species for hantavirus.[3][5][6]
Lyme Disease
A recent study in British Columbia, of 218 Deer mice showed that 30% (66) were seropositive for B. burgdorferi,[7] the agent of Lyme disease.
Other Diseases
Ehrlichiosis, babesiosis, and bubonic plague are also carried by the deer mouse.[1]
Use as a laboratory animal
While wild populations are sometimes studied, Peromyscus is also easy to breed and keep in captivity, although they are more energetic and difficult to handle than the relatively more tame lab mouse Mus musculus. For certain studies, Peromyscus is also favoured over the common laboratory mouse (Mus domesticus) and the laboratory rat (Rattus norvegicus) . Apart from their importance in studying infectious diseases, Peromyscus are useful for studying phylogeography, speciation, chromosomes, genetics, ecology, population genetics, and evolution in general. They are also useful for researching repetitive movement disorders.[8][9][10][11] Their use in aging research results from the fact that Peromyscus spp., despite being of similar size to the standard laboratory mouse, have maximum life spans of 5 to 7 years, vs. the 2 to 3 year maximum life span of ad-libitum fed Mus musculus laboratory strains, or Mus musculus obtained from the wild.[1]
The Peromyscus Genetic Stock Center at the University of South Carolina was established by Professor Wallace Dawson in 1985 to raise animals of the peromyscine species for research and educational use. This institute maintains populations of several different species (including Peromyscus californicus, Peromyscus maniculatus, Peromyscus melanophrys, Peromyscus eremicus, and Peromyscus aztecus). A variety of mutations affecting their behavior, biochemistry, and the color of their coats are exhibited in these genetic lines.
Species
- Peromyscus
- californicus group
- California Mouse - Peromyscus californicus
- eremicus group
- Cactus Mouse - Peromyscus eremicus
- Angel Island Mouse - Peromyscus guardia - possibly extinct
- Peromyscus guardia guardia - last seen 1991
- Peromyscus guardia mejiae - extinct (1973)
- Peromyscus guardia harbisoni - extinct (1963)
- Peromyscus guardia subsp. indet. from Estanque Island - extinct (1998)
- San Lorenzo Mouse - Peromyscus interparietalis
- Dickey's Deer Mouse - Peromyscus dickeyi
- False Canyon Mouse - Peromyscus pseudocrinitus
- Eva's Desert Mouse - Peromyscus eva
- Burt's deer Mouse - Peromyscus caniceps
- Mesquite Mouse - Peromyscus merriami
- Pemberton's Deer Mouse - Peromyscus pembertoni - extinct (1931)
- hooperi group
- Hooper's Mouse - Peromyscus hooperi
- crinitus group
- Canyon Mouse - Peromyscus crinitus
- maniculatus group
- Peromyscus maniculatus
- Peromyscus polionotus
- Peromyscus polionotus allophrys
- Peromyscus polionotus ammobates
- Pallid Beach Mouse Peromyscus polionotus decoloratus - extinct (1959)
- Peromyscus polionotus leucocephalus
- Peromyscus polionotus niveiventris
- Peromyscus polionotus peninsularis
- Peromyscus polionotus phasma
- Peromyscus polionotus trissyllepsis
- Santa Cruz Mouse - Peromyscus sejugis
- Northwestern Deer Mouse - Peromyscus keeni
- Peromyscus sitkensis
- Black-Eared Mouse - Peromyscus melanotis
- Peromyscus slevini
- Peromyscus nesodytes
- leucopus group
- White-footed Mouse - Peromyscus leucopus
- Cotton Mouse - Peromyscus gossypinus
- Chadwick Beach Cotton Mouse Peromyscus gossypinus restrictus - extinct (1938)
- aztecus group
- Aztec Mouse - Peromyscus aztecus
- Gleaning Mouse - Peromyscus spicilegus
- Winkelmann's Mouse - Peromyscus winkelmanni
- boylii group
- Brush Mouse - Peromyscus boylii
- Nimble-Footed Mouse - Peromyscus levipes
- Schmidly's deermouse - Peromyscus schmidlyi
- San Esteban Island Mouse - Peromyscus stephani
- Texas Mouse - Peromyscus attwateri
- Nayarit Mouse - Peromyscus simulus
- Peromyscus madrensis
- Peromyscus pectoralis
- Peromyscus polius
- truei group
- Peromyscus truei
- Peromyscus gratus
- Peromyscus bullatus
- Peromyscus difficilis
- Peromyscus nasutus
- melanophrys group
- Peromyscus melanophrys
- Peromyscus perfulvus
- Peromyscus mekisturus
- furvus group
- Peromyscus furvus
- Peromyscus ochraventer
- Peromyscus mayensis
- megalops group
- Peromyscus megalops
- Peromyscus melanurus
- Peromyscus melanocarpus
- mexicanus group
- Peromyscus mexicanus
- Peromyscus gymnotis
- Peromyscus guatemalensis
- Peromyscus zarhynchus
- Peromyscus grandis
- Peromyscus yucatanicus
- Peromyscus stirtoni
- californicus group
External links
- Fact sheet on deer mice
- The song of the deer mouse
- Peromyscus Genetic Stock Center (University of South Carolina)
- Hantavirus Fact Sheet
- Peromyscus Photos
References
- ^ a b c Crossland, J. and A. Lewandowski. 2006. Peromyscus - A fascinating laboratory animal model. Techtalk, 11:1-2.
- ^ http://mw4.m-w.com/dictionary/deer%20mouse Deer mouse etymology from Merriam-Webster. Accessed June 11, 2010.
- ^ a b http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hanta/hps/noframes/phys/virology.htm
- ^ http://www.sc.edu/research/pdf/Bioengineering.pdf
- ^ "It's Official--The Deer Mouse Is Deadly". Newsmagazine 18 July 1994: 43+ . Academic Search Elite. EBSCOhost. UWSP Library. 12 Oct. 2007
- ^ Netski, Dale, Brandonlyn Thran, and Stephen St. Jeor. "Sin Nombre Virus Pathogenesis in Peromyscus maniculatus". Journal of Virology 73.1 (1999): 585- 591. Biological & Agricultural. Wilson Web. 25 Oct. 2007 http://jvi.asm.org/cgi/reprint/73/1/585.
- ^ Canada Communicable Disease Report (CCDR) - Vol.34 CCDR-01 - Public Health Agency of Canada
- ^ Joyner CP, Myrick LC, Crossland JP, Dawson WD. Deer Mice As Laboratory Animals. ILAR J. 1998 Sep;39(4):322-330.
- ^ Dewey, M.J. and W.D. Dawson. 2001. Deer Mice: “The Drosophila” of North American mammalogy. Genesis, 29:105-109.
- ^ Mammalian models for research on aging. (1981) ISBN 9780309030946 Google Books
- ^ Linnen, C.R. et al. On the origin and spread of an adaptive allele in deer mice. Science. 2009 Aug 28;325(5944):1095-8. PubMedID: 19713521.
Categories: - Peromyscus
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