Little Luzon wood mouse
| Little Luzon wood mouse | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Apomys microdon | ||||||||||||
| Hollister , 1913 |
The small Luzon wood mouse ( Apomys microdon ) is a species of mouse from the genus Apomys in the family of long-tailed mice (Muridae). It occurs on the Philippine islands of Luzon and Catanduanes .
features
The Luzon Little Wood Mouse is a small species of mouse with big eyes and big ears. It reaches a total length of 227 to 256 mm, a tail length of 124 to 145 mm, a hind foot length of 26 to 28 mm, an ear length of 17 to 19 mm and a weight of 30 to 42 g. The tail length is greater than the head-trunk length . The soft fur is brown on the top with a light orange-colored tint and on the underside light orange-brown with isolated areas of white fur.
Systematics and nomenclature
The closest relative of the Luzon Little Wood Mouse is the Philippines Little Wood Mouse ( Apomys musculus ), which is smaller and usually found at higher altitudes. Both species split off from a common ancestor around 1.7 million years ago. In 1992 Gordon Barclay Corbet and John Edwards Hill used the name Apomys hollisteri for this species, as it was introduced as a nomen novum by John Ellerman in 1949 . In Ellerman's opinion, the epithet microdon was not available, as it was already assigned by Wilhelm Peters in 1852 for the species Mus microdon (now a synonym for the natal multi-teat mouse ( Mastomys natalensis )). Corbet and Hill also referred to Article 59 (b) of the 3rd Edition of the International Rules on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) from 1985, which stipulates that a secondary junior homonym that was replaced prior to 1961 is permanently invalid. Guy Musser and Michael D. Carleton , on the other hand, stuck to the name Apomys microdon in 1993 and in 2005 they argued in the third edition of the work Mammal Species of the World with ICZN Article 59.3 amended in 1999, according to which a secondary junior homonym replaced before 1961 is permanently invalid unless the substitute name is in use and the relevant taxa are not considered to be congeneric . In this case, a junior homonym should not be discarded as a substitute.
habitat
The small Luzon wood mouse inhabits secondary and primary lowland and mountain forests as well as occasionally moss-covered forests from sea level to altitudes of 2025 m.
Way of life
The little Luzon wood mouse is nocturnal. When foraging for food, it often spends time in trees and occasionally on the ground. The main diet consists of seeds and occasionally insects and earthworms. The nests are in the corners of screw trees or in clusters of climbing bamboo. They are mainly built from dry bamboo leaves and a few leaves from deciduous trees. The females have two pairs of mammary glands in the groin area. The average litter size is two embryos. However, females with three or one embryo have also been observed. The adult males have small testes measuring 4 × 8 mm.
status
The Luzon wood mouse is listed by the IUCN in the “ Least Concern” category. It is widespread and its population is stable. It is tolerant of secondary forests, but some of its former habitat has been lost due to deforestation.
literature
- Lawrence R. Heaney, Danilo S. Balete, Eric A. Rickart: The Mammals of Luzon Island: Biogeography and Natural History of a Philippine Fauna . Johns Hopkins University Press, 2016, pp. 138-139 ISBN 978-1421418377
Web links
- Apomys microdon inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016.2. Listed by: Lawrence R. Heaney, 2014. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
Individual evidence
- ^ Corbet, GB and Hill, JE 1992. Mammals of the Indo-Malayan Region: a Systematic Review. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.