The California deermouse or California mouse (''Peromyscus californicus'') is a species of

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...

in the subfamily

Neotominae The Neotominae are a subfamily of the family Cricetidae. They consist of four tribes, 16 genera, and many species of New World rats and mice, predominantly found in North America. Among them are the well-known deer mice, white-footed mice, packra ...

in the family

Cricetidae The Cricetidae are a family of rodents in the large and complex superfamily Muroidea. It includes true hamsters, voles, lemmings, muskrats, and New World rats and mice. At almost 608 species, it is the second-largest family of mammals, and has m ...

. It is the only species in the ''Peromyscus californicus'' species group. It is found in northwestern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and central to southern

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. It is the largest ''

Peromyscus ''Peromyscus'' is a genus of rodents. They are commonly referred to as deer mice or deermice, not to be confused with the chevrotain or "mouse deer". They are New World mice only distantly related to the common house and laboratory mouse, ''Mu ...

'' species in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. While most rodents are

polygamous Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is ...

, the California deermouse is

monogamous Monogamy ( ) is a form of Dyad (sociology), dyadic Intimate relationship, relationship in which an individual has only one Significant other, partner during their lifetime. Alternately, only one partner at any one time (Monogamy#Serial monogamy, ...

and forms

pair bond In biology, a pair bond is the strong affinity that develops in some species between a mating pair, often leading to the production and rearing of offspring and potentially a lifelong bond. Pair-bonding is a term coined in the 1940s that is freque ...

s, making it a

model organism A model organism (often shortened to model) is a non-human species that is extensively studied to understand particular biological phenomena, with the expectation that discoveries made in the model organism will provide insight into the workin ...

for researchers studying the genetics and neurobiology of partner fidelity and

paternal care In biology, paternal care is parental investment provided by a male to his own offspring. It is a complex social behaviour in vertebrates associated with animal mating systems, life history traits, and ecology. Paternal care may be provided in co ...

Description

The California deermouse has very large ears, and its tail is longer than the head and body combined. Including the tail, which is about long, the mouse ranges in length from . The coat is overall orange, mixed with black and brown hairs. This dorsal colour shades to a creamy-white belly colour. The manus and feet are white. Adults are large enough that they can be confused with juvenile ''

Neotoma fuscipes The dusky-footed woodrat (''Neotoma fuscipes'') is a species of nocturnal rodent in the family Cricetidae. They are commonly called "packrats" or "trade rats" and build large, domed dens that can reach several feet in height. Coyotes and oth ...

'', a close relative in the subfamily

. The dental formula is 1003/1003.

Breeding

The California deermouse is semi

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the Animal locomotion, locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. Th ...

, but tends to nest on the ground, under debris such as fallen logs, and they will also move into ''

'' nests as seasonal residents. Nests are insulated with coarse, dry grasses, weeds, and sticks, and fine grass is used as bedding in the center chamber. The California mouse forms pair bonds and the males help raise the young. A litter usually consists of only two pups, but a pair may produce as many as six litters in a year. Gestation ranges from 21 to 25 days. Weaning occurs when the offspring are five to six weeks of age. Peromyscus californicus map of distribution in the state of California, United States

Peromyscus californicus map of distribution in the state of California, United States

Behaviour

''P. californicus'' is more strongly territorial than ''P. maniculatus'', with both sexes defending the nest site. Males are also aggressive toward one another; their fighting techniques involve jumping, avoidance, and a characteristic mewing cry. This male aggression often is a trade-off between parental care, for males that spend more time engaging in territorial aggression consequently spend less time providing food for offspring. The mouse communicates with other members of its species via

ultrasound Ultrasound is sound waves with frequency, frequencies higher than the upper audible limit of human hearing range, hearing. Ultrasound is not different from "normal" (audible) sound in its physical properties, except that humans cannot hea ...

. The manner in which a male and female communicate changes from a more aggressive style to a more affiliative style during the development of a pair bond, and the characteristics of their vocalizations can be used to predict the stability of the pair bond. California mice are mostly active at night.

Diet

The mouse's diet consists of shrub fruits, seeds, and flowers, such as of '' Rhus integrifolia,

Lotus scoparius ''Acmispon glaber'' (previously ''Lotus scoparius'') (common deerweed, deer weed, deervetch, California broom or western bird's-foot trefoil) is a perennial subshrub in the family Fabaceae (pea family). The plant is a pioneer species found in d ...

'', and ''

Salvia apiana ''Salvia apiana'', the white sage, bee sage, or sacred sage is an evergreen perennial shrub that is native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, found mainly in the coastal sage scrub habitat of Southern California and Baja C ...

''. They also consume grasses,

forbs A forb or phorb is an herbaceous flowering plant that is not a graminoid (grass, sedge, or rush). The term is used in biology and in vegetation ecology, especially in relation to grasslands and understory. Typically these are dicots without woo ...

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

, and

arthropods Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...

Predators

Their main predators are weasels and barn owls.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1770327

Mammals of Mexico Mammals of the United States Rodents of North America California mouse California mouse California mouse California mouse California mouse California mouse California mouse California mouse California mouse California mouse Taxonomy articles created by Polbot