The red climbing mouse (''Vernaya fulva''), also known as Vernay's climbing mouse, 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 n ...

in the family Muridae. It is named after explorer and antiques dealer, Arthur Vernay, who sponsored the expedition during which the animal was first discovered. It is the only living species in the genus '' Vernaya'', and has no subspecies.

Distribution

Red climbing mice found in southern China, in the provinces of

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the C ...

, Gansu,

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

, and

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...

and in northern

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

. It inhabits mountainous terrain at elevations between . Four extinct species of the genus ''Vernaya'' are also known, all discovered in

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in ...

deposits from southern China, alongside fossils of ''V. fulva''.

Description

Only a few specimens of red climbing mice have been recorded by scientists. The specimens indicate that is a relatively small mouse, with a head-body length of between . The fur has been described as soft and fluffy and merges from a brownish-orange colour along the middle of the black to a rich orange on the flanks, neck, shoulders, and the sides of the face. The underparts are pale buff in colour, while the ears are brown. The tail is far longer than the body, ranging from in length, and is dark brown in colour and almost naked, with no visible tuft. The feet have orange fur on the upper surface, and paler beneath; all the toes have sharp claws, except for the first digit of the forepaws, which instead bear flattened nails. Judging from the locations where specimens have been captured, the animal inhabits dense vegetation, such as low shrubbery and

bracken Bracken (''Pteridium'') is a genus of large, coarse ferns in the family Dennstaedtiaceae. Ferns (Pteridophyta) are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produce sex cells (eggs ...

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1766393 Vernaya Mammals described in 1927 Taxa named by Glover Morrill Allen Taxonomy articles created by Polbot