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Mus musculus

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Description

From Armstrong et al. (2010): "This is a small, slender, brown to blackish brown mouse with a sparsely haired, scaly tail. The underparts are slightly paler in color than the dorsum without any clear line of demarcation. The ears are relatively large and sparsely haired." Additionally, "House mice also have a characteristic strong, musky odor produced by anal glands. Once acquainted with that odor, one can recognize the presence of a house mouse in a closed trap simply by the scent."

From Best & Hunt (2020): "This is a small mouse, gray to grayish-brown on the dorsum, grading without sharp demarcation to paler gray or tan on the ventrum. The fur is short. Black, brown, and white individuals sometimes occur, especially among domesticates. The tail is about 50% of total length, scaly, and almost hairless. The rostrum is pointed, ears are prominent, and the small, black eyes protrude somewhat. Upper incisors lack anterior grooves and when viewed laterally have a small squared notch near their tips on the posterior side."

External measurements

Length measurements are in millimeters (mm) and weight measurements are in grams (g), unless stated otherwise. If available, the sample size (n=) is provided. If a range is not provided and n= is not given, then the listed measurement represents an average.

Part of range Reference Total length Tail length Hindfoot length Ear length Mass
Alabama Best & Dusi (2014) 159 (140–197) (n=25) 75 (62–102) (n=25) 17 (12–19) (n=25) 13 (8–14) (n=17) 17 (13–25) (n=7)
California Jameson & Peeters (2004) 155–204 70–95 17–20 11–16 12–24
Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland Webster et al. (1985) 140–180 58–93 18–23
Colorado Armstrong et al. (2010) 130–200 60–105 14–21 11–18 18–23
Minnesota Hazard (1982) 150–177 67–85 17–20 11.5–13 13.5–35.3
North Dakota Seabloom et al. (2020) 160 75 18 12 13–35
Texas Schmidly & Bradley (2016) 169 93 18 17–25
Virginia Linzey (1998) 150–185 74–100 14–28


Color variation

Similar species

From Armstrong et al. (2010): "Superficially this species might be confused with the harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys). However, harvest mice have grooves on the upper incisors, which are lacking in the house mouse."

Skull characters

From Armstrong et al. (2010): "The skull is flattened and has a short rostrum. Cusps of the molars are aligned in 3 longitudinal rows. The first upper molar is longer than the combined length of the second and third molars."

From Best & Hunt (2020): "Upper incisors lack anterior grooves and when viewed laterally have a small squared notch near their tips on the posterior side."

  • Skull of Mus musculus

References

Armstrong DM, Fitzgerald JP, Meaney CA. 2010. Mammals of Colorado, Second Edition. Denver (CO, USA): University Press of Colorado.

Best TL, Dusi JL. 2014. Mammals of Alabama (Vol. 4). Tuscaloosa (AL, USA): University Alabama Press.

Best TL, Hunt JL. 2020. Mammals of the southeastern United States. Tuscaloosa (AL, USA): University Alabama Press.

Hazard EB. 1982. The mammals of Minnesota. Minneapolis (MN, USA): University of Minnesota Press.

Jameson EW, Peeters HJ. 2004. Mammals of California (No. 66). Berkeley (CA, USA): University of California Press.

Linzey DW. 1998. The mammals of Virginia. McDonald & Woodward Publishing.

Schmidly DJ, Bradley RD. 2016. The mammals of Texas. Austin (TX, USA): University of Texas Press.

Seabloom R, Hoganson JW, Jensen WF. 2020. The mammals of North Dakota. Fargo (ND, USA): North Dakota State University Press.

Webster WD, Parnell JF, Biggs WC. 1985. Mammals of the Carolinas, Virginia, and Maryland. Chapel Hill (NC, USA): University of North Carolina Press.

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