564.

Fawn-colored Mouse

Mus cervicolor

French: Souris fauve / German: Falbmaus / Spanish: Raton beige

Taxonomy. Mus cervicolor Hodgson, 1845,

Nepal.

Within subgenus Mus forms a clade with M. caroli and M. cookii . In 1977, J. T. Marshall recognized two subspecies in Thailand, with race popaeus living in forests and nominate cervicolor in rice fields. However, both morphometric and molecular data argue against the recognition of subspecies, and a cross experiment has found complete fertility at the F2 generation. Monotypic.

Distribution. NE Pakistan, NW & NE India, Nepal, Myanmar, S China (Yunnan), Thai-land, Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia. Records from W Sumatra and C & E Java likely represent introduced populations.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 70-95 mm, tail 50-70 mm, ear 13-15 mm, hindfoot 14-19 mm; weight 8-17 g. Pelage of this medium-sized mouse is soft. Dorsally it varies from orange-brown to gray and ventrally from cream white to gray. Tail is shorter than head-body length and bicolored (white below). Feet are white and small.

Habitat. Secondary forest, grassland, brush, rice fields, and other cultivated areas up to 2000 m above sea level.

Food and Feeding. Diet consists of seeds and insects.

Breeding. After a gestation of three weeks, females give birth to 5-6 young, which are weaned after 21 days.

Activity patterns. Fawn-colored Mice are terrestrial and mostly nocturnal.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Fawn-colored Mice are very active, digging burrows with tunnels and nest chambers.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red Last.

Bibliography. Auffray et al. (2003), Francis (2008), Lekagul & McNeely (1977), Macholan (2001), Marshall (1977a), Musser & Newcomb (1983), Roberts (1977), Shimada et al. (2010), Smith & Yan Xie (2008), Suzuki, Shimada et al. (2004).