517.

Eastern Broad-toothed Field Mouse

Apodemus mystacinus

French: Mulot rupestre / German: Orient-Felsenmaus / Spanish: Raton de campo de dientes anchos oriental

Other common names: Broad-toothed Field Mouse, Eastern Rock Mouse

Taxonomy. Mus mystacinus Danford & Alston, 1877,

Zebil, Bulgar Dagh [= Bol-kar Mountains], Adana Province, Turkey.

Apodemus mystacinus was formerly thought to belong to subgenus Karstomys, of which it was unique representative when A. epimelas was treated as a synonym. Later, in 1996, it was attributed to the Sylvaemus group by G. G. Musser and colleagues, but molecular studies found it to be very distant from most other Apodemus, and its

phylogenetic position varied from placement in a separate clade ( Karstomys) to that of sister taxon of a draco subgroup in an “ Apodemus group” clade, as outlined in 2005 by Musser and M. D. Carleton. A 2008 molecular study by H. Suzuki and team placed it in its own clade basal to Sylvaemus group, whereas Liu Qi and coworkers in 2012 foundit basal to the Apodemus group. J. Darvish and colleagues in 2015 found A. mystacinus to be sister of A. epimelas, the two representing a Karstomys clade. A morphometric analysis by V. Vohralik and colleagues in 2002 did not supportrecognition of named subspe-cies, and various phylogeographic studies, as reported by B. Krystufek & Vohralik in 2009, provided no clear support for them. Monotypic.

Distribution. Greece (Crete and Aegean Is), Turkey (Anatolia), W Georgia, W Syria, Lebanon, N Israel, Palestine, Jordan, and N Iraq.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 98-132 mm, tail 98-145 mm, ear 17-22 mm, hindfoot 24-28 mm; weight 25-57 g. Dorsal pelage of the Eastern Broad-toothed Field Mouseis in general gray, with some variability from brownish gray to buff, and ventral fur is pure white orvery pale gray. Ears are gray, and feet are white. Tail is generally longer but in 2% of individuals shorter (90-139%) than head-body length, and is bicolored. Skull is very similar in proportions to that of Sylvaemus representatives, and only morphometric studies may allow distinction. Females bear three pairs of mammae. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 48, FNa = 50.

Habitat. Mediterranean forests with rocky habitats and sparse cover, from sea level to 2700 m. In Turkey, the Eastern Broad-toothed Field Mouse is common in rocky ground with deciduous and coniferous forests with oaks ( Quercus, Fagaceae), pines ( Pinus, Pinaceae), and cedars ( Cedrus, Pinaceae). It can live in degraded forest, shrublands, and pastures with bush and rocks, and is found also incultivated areas (or-chards,fields, vineyards, gardens) surrounded by stony walls.

Food and Feeding. Diet consists of seeds of weeds, pine, cereals, acorns, and carob ( Ceratonia siliqua, Fabaceae), with variable proportion of insects and snails, as well as some bird eggs and nestlings.

Breeding. Reproduction is continuous or seasonal, depending on region; generally three or four litters per year. After gestation of 23-26 days, females give birth to up to five offspring.

Activity patterns. The Eastern Broad-toothed Field Mouse is terrestrial and nocturnal. It can climb trees easily, and also digs burrows in soil or finds shelter under rocks. It makes nests in fallenlogs or piles of rocks and in crevices.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Eastern Broad-toothed Field Mouse is never very abundant, and population densities do not fluctuate. Observed range is small, average radius of activity varying from 8 m to 15 m. Males become aggressive toward other males during breeding season, but agonistic interactions be-tween females remain rare.

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

Bibliography. Aulagnier et al. (2009), Corbet (1978), Darvish, Mohammadi, Ghorbani, Mahmoudi & Dubey (2015), Darvish, Mohammadi, Ghorbani & Mostafavi (2014), KryStufek & Vohralik (2009), Liu Qi et al. (2012), Musser & Carleton (2005), Musser et al. (1996), Storch (1999a), Suzuki et al. (2008), Vohralik et al. (2002).