522.

Chevrier’s Field Mouse

Apodemus chevrieri

French: Mulot de Chevrier / German: ChevrierWaldmaus / Spanish: Raton de campo de Chevrier

Taxonomy. Mus chevrieri Milne-Edwards, 1868, Moupin, Sichuan, China.

Described initially as a Mus species, A. chevrieri was first considered a synonym of A, agrarius butlater reinstated as a valid species by J. R. Ellerman in 1941. This opinion was followed by many authors on morphological grounds, and subsequently validated by molecular studies. The most recent phylogeny, by Liu Qi and colleagues in 2012, confirms the position of

this taxon in an agrarius subgroup within Apodemus . Monotypic.

Distribution. C China (S Gansu, S Shaanxi, Sichuan, Chongqing, W Hubei, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Hunan).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 88-110 mm,tail 83-105 mm, ear 14-16 mm, hindfoot 22-25 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. Chevrier’s Field Mouse is very similar to the Striped Field Mouse ( A. agrarius),but lacks the mid-dorsal stripe and is largerin size.

Habitat. Cultivated fields, grasslands, and open woodlands, at 300-1800 m elevation.

Food and Feeding. Chevrier’s Field Mouse feeds on seeds and insects.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Chevrier’s Field Mice are terrestrial and diurnal.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

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

Bibliography. Ellerman (1941), Liu Qi et al. (2012), Musser & Carleton (2005), Smith & Yan Xie (2008).