Peromyscus schmidlyi

Taxobox
name = "Peromyscus schmidlyi"


image_width = 240px
image_caption =
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Mammalia
ordo = Rodentia
superfamilia = Muroidea
familia = Cricetidae
subfamilia = Neotominae
genus = "Peromyscus"
species = "P. schmidlyi"
binomial = "Peromyscus schmidlyi"
binomial_authority = Bradley et al., 2004

Schmidly's deermouse, "Peromyscus schmidlyi" is a recently described species of deer mouse from Sinaloa, Sonora and Durango, Mexico [H.Cabrera et al.,Distribution and natural history of the Schmidly's deermouse. The Southwestern Naturalist, Vol.52, Issue 4, 2007] . It is part of the highly complex and well-studied "Peromyscus boylii" species complex. The uniqueness of "Peromyscus" from this area has long been suspected, but was only formalized in 2004 with the publication of its species description.

Its monophyly has been confirmed using parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian analyses of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. No nuclear genes have been used in an analysis. The species is also unique from other "Peromyscus" in cranial measurements, and karyotype (FN = 54-56). Its closest relative appears to be "Peromyscus levipes".

Like many other members of the "P. boylii" species group, "P. schmidlyi" is found at higher elevations, above 2,000 m. It is known to inhabit pine-oak forests. The species was named in honor of Dr. David J. Schmidly, renowned mammalogist and current president of the University of New Mexico.

Notes

References

*Bradley, R. D., D. S. Carroll, M. L. Haynie, R. M. Martinez, M. J. Hamilton, and C. W. Kilpatrick. 2004. A new species of "Peromyscus" from western Mexico. Journal of Mammalogy, 85:1184-1193.