Catalina deer mouse
| Catalina deer mouse | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Peromyscus slevini | ||||||||||||
| Mailliard , 1924 |
The Catalina deer mouse ( Peromyscus slevini ) is a species of white-footed mouse that occurs exclusively on the Mexican island of Santa Catalina .
description
The Catalina deer mouse is relatively large compared to other deer mice with a large body and a medium-long tail. Exemplary measurements showed a head body length of 210 mm and a tail length of 97 mm for a male, a head body length of 214 mm and a tail length of 109 mm for a female. The hind foot length was 25 and 26 mm respectively and the length of the ears was 19 mm in each case. The top is light cinnamon-colored with individual gray hairs on the back, the belly is white with individual cinnamon-colored hairs. The front legs are also cinnamon-colored and the feet are cream-white, the tail is slightly darker on the top than the back and also white on the underside.
Characteristic features are the formation of the molar M2 and three pairs of teats in the females. Compared to the mainland species Peromyscus californicus , the Catalina deer mouse is somewhat larger and at the same time lighter. The skull is also a bit narrower.
distribution and habitat
The Catalina deer vole is endemic to the Pacific island of Santa Catalina in the Gulf of California . This island is 23 km east of the mainland and has an area of 40 km 2
A total of 96 plant species are known for the island, with Bursera hindsiana , Bursera microphylla , Colubrina viridis , Encelia farinose , Esenbeckia flava , Euphorbia polycarpa and Ferocactus diguetii dominating . The main predator is the Santa Catalina rattlesnake ( Crotalus catalinensis ), which is common on the island.
Taxonomy
The Catalina deer mouse was described by Joseph Mailliard (1857–1945) in 1924 as a new species of deer mouse. The scientific name honors the American zoologist Joseph Richard Slevin (1881–1957).
status
In the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species, the Catalina deer vole is classified as critically endangered or critically endangered. This assessment is based primarily on the very limited range and the decreasing number of reproductive individuals on the island. In 1931 the number of mice on Santa Catalina was classified as high by WH Burt, in 1993 not a single individual could be found while 15 in 1995 and four in 1998 by re-trapping.
The main threat to the Catalina deer vole is considered to be Peromyscus fraterculus , which was probably introduced to the island by fishermen from mainland California and which is in direct competition with the native species and displaces it.
literature
- Sergio Ticul Álvarez-Castañeda, Patricia Cortés-Calva: Peromyscus slevini. In: Mammalian Species . No. 705, 2002, ISSN 0076-3519 , pp. 1–2, online, (PDF; 324 kB) .
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c d Description based on Álvarez-Castañeda & Cortés-Calva 2002.
- ↑ a b c d Peromyscus slevini in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2009. Posted by: Álvarez Castañeda, ST & Castro-Arellano, I., 2008. Accessed on November 3 in 2009.
- ^ Joseph Mailliard: A new mouse (Peromyscus slevini) from the Gulf of California. In: Proceedings of the California Academy of Science. 4th Series, Vol. 12, 1923/1924, pp. 1219–1222, online (PDF; 2.38 MB) ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .
