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Peromyscus

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Stemonitis (talk | contribs) at 15:45, 29 April 2007 (→Species: link Anastasia Island Beach Mouse). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Peromyscus
Temporal range: Late Miocene - Recent
Peromyscus maniculatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Mammalia
Order:
Rodentia
Superfamily:
Muroidea
Family:
Cricetidae
Subfamily:
Neotominae
Genus:
Peromyscus

Gloger, 1841
species

See text.

The genus Peromyscus contains species commonly referred to as deer mice. This is a genus of New World mouse only distantly related to the common house mouse, Mus musculus. The most common species of deer mouse in the continental United States are two closely related species, P. maniculatus, and P. leucopus. In the USA, Peromyscus is also the most populous mammalian species overall.[1]

The genus Peromyscus has been an important model in the studies of phylogeography, speciation, chromosomes, genetics, and evolution in general. In recent years, it has become notorious in the western United States as a carrier of the hantavirus.

There is a different mammal by the name of "Mouse Deer," a relatively primitive ungulate of minuscule size.

Species

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