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, Mus musculus. From this distant relative, Peromyscus species are distinguished by 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". They are also accomplished jumpers and runners by comparison to house mice, and their common name of "deer mouse" (coined in 1833) is in reference to both this agility as well as their two-toned coloring.

The most common species of deer mice in the continental United States are two closely related species, P. maniculatus and P. leucopus. In the United States, Peromyscus is the most populous mammalian genus overall, and has become notorious in the western United States as a carrier of hantaviruses.

Reservoir of human disease

Hantavirus

Deer mice came to the attention of the public when it was discovered that some species, such as eastern and western deermice (Peromyscus maniculatus and P. sonoriensis, respectively) are primary reservoir species for Sin Nombre hantavirus.

Lyme disease

A 2008 study in British Columbia of 218 deer mice showed 30% (66) were seropositive for Borrelia burgdorferi, the agent of Lyme disease.

Other diseases

Ehrlichiosis and babesiosis are also carried by deer mice.

SARS-CoV-2 transmits efficiently in deer mice.

Use as a laboratory animal

While wild populations are sometimes studied, Peromyscus species are also easy to breed and keep in captivity, although they are more energetic and difficult to handle than the relatively more tame M. musculus. For certain studies, they are also favored over the laboratory mouse (M. musculus) and the laboratory rat (Rattus norvegicus). Apart from their importance in studying infectious diseases, Peromyscus species are useful for studying phylogeography, speciation, chromosomes, genetics, ecology, population genetics, conservation and evolution in general. They are also useful for researching repetitive-movement disorders. Their use in aging research is because Peromyscus spp., despite being of similar size to the standard laboratory mouse, have maximum lifespans of 5–7 years, compared to the 3-year maximum lifespan of ad libitum-fed laboratory strains or wild-caught M. musculus.

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 is exhibited in these genetic lines.

An American scientist once asked, "How do you go out there and vaccinate a bunch of deer mice against Hantavirus by hand?" In 2017, Rocky Mountain Laboratories started a deer mouse (Peromyscus) colony. The BSL-4 laboratory had used deer mice as a model for research on self-spreading vaccines. SARS-CoV-2 transmits efficiently in deer mice.

Species

• Peromyscus californicus group California deermouse – P. californicus eremicus group Cactus mouse – P. eremicus Burt's deer mouse– P. caniceps Dickey's deer mouse – P. dickeyi Eva's desert mouse – P. eva Northern Baja deer mouse– P. fraterculus Angel Island mouse – P. guardia – possibly extinct P. g. guardia – last seen 1991 P. g. mejiae – extinct (1973) P. g. harbisoni – extinct (1963) P. guardia subsp. indet. from Estanque Island – extinct (1998) San Lorenzo mouse – P. interparietalis Mesquite mouse – P. merriami Pemberton's deer mouse – P. pembertoni – extinct (1931) False canyon mouse – P. pseudocrinitus hooperi group Hooper's mouse – P. hooperi crinitus group Canyon mouse – P. crinitus maniculatus group Eastern deer mouse − P. maniculatus Yukon deer mouse – P. sp. Gambel's deer mouse – P. gambelii Northwestern deer mouse – P. keeni Southern deer mouse – P. labecula Black-eared mouse – P. melanotis †Giant island deer mouse – P. nesodytes – extinct Oldfield mouse or beach mouse – P. polionotus P. p. allophrys P. p. ammobates Pallid beach mouse P. p. decoloratus – extinct (1959) P. p. leucocephalus P. p. niveiventris P. p. peninsularis Anastasia Island beach mouse P. p. phasma P. p. trissyllepsis Santa Cruz mouse – P. sejugis Slevin's mouse – P. slevini Western deer mouse – P. sonoriensis leucopus group White-footed mouse – P. leucopus Cotton mouse – P. gossypinus Key Largo cotton mouse P. g. allapaticola †Chadwick Beach cotton mouse P. g. restrictus – extinct (1938) aztecus group Aztec mouse – P. aztecus Transvolcanic deer mouse – P. hylocetes Oaxacan deer mouse – P. oaxacensis Gleaning mouse – P. spicilegus Winkelmann's mouse – P. winkelmanni boylii group Brush mouse – P. boylii Orizaba deer mouse – P. beatae Carleton's deer mouse – P. carletoni Ensink's deer mouse – P. ensinki Greenbaum's deer mouse – P. greenbaumi Kilpatrick's deer mouse – P. kilpatricki Nimble-footed mouse – P. levipes Tres Marías Island mouse – P. madrensis Chihuahuan mouse – P. polius La Palma deer mouse – P. sagax Schmidly's deer mouse – P. schmidlyi Nayarit mouse – P. simulus San Esteban Island mouse – P. stephani truei group Pinyon mouse – P. truei Texas mouse – P. attwateri Perote mouse - P. bullatus Zacatecan deer mouse or southern rock mouse – P. difficilis Osgood's mouse – P. gratus Northern white-ankled mouse – P. laceianus Northern rock mouse – P. nasutus El Carrizo deer mouse – P. ochraventer Southern white-ankled mouse – P. pectoralis melanophrys group Plateau mouse – P. melanophrys Puebla deer mouse – P. mekisturus – possibly extinct Tawny deer mouse – P. perfulvus furvus group Blackish deer mouse – P. furvus Wide-rostrum deer mouse – P. latirostris megalops group Brown deer mouse – P. megalops Black-wristed deer mouse – P. melanocarpus - assignment to the species group tentative Black-tailed mouse – P. melanurus mexicanus group Mexican deer mouse – P. mexicanus Baker's deer mouse – P. bakeri Carol Patton's deer mouse – P. carolpattonae Gardner's deer mouse – P. gardneri Big deer mouse – P. grandis Guatemalan deer mouse – P. guatemalensis Naked-eared deer mouse – P. gymnotis Maya mouse – P. mayensis Talamancan deer mouse – P. nudipes Nicaraguan deer mouse – P. nicaraguae Salvadoran deer mouse – P. salvadorensis Stirton's deer mouse – P. stirtoni Chimoxan deer mouse – P. tropicalis Yucatán deer mouse – P. yucatanicus Chiapan deer mouse – P. zarhynchus

External links

• from the National Pest Management Association—with information on habits, habitat and health threats
• at the Washington State Department of Health