Apodemus semotus, Thomas, 1908
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6887260 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6816096 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/1E30E275-3490-FF21-E16D-2F4A72448BE9 |
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treatment provided by |
Carolina |
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scientific name |
Apodemus semotus |
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Taiwan Field Mouse
French: Mulot de Taiwan / German: Taiwan-Waldmaus / Spanish: Raton de campo de Taiwan
Other common names: Formosan Wood Mouse
Taxonomy. Apodemus semotus Thomas, 1908 View in CoL ,
“Mt. Arizan, Central Formosa [= Taiwan].”
Apodemus semotus was synonymized with A. sylvaticus by J. R. Ellerman in 1941, and also thought to be close to A. draco . Later, as outlined by G. G. Musser and M. D. Carleton in 2005, it was reinstated as a species and placed in the Apodemus group on basis of morphological and genetic characters. H. Suzuki and colleagues in their 2008 molecular study found it to be sister taxon of A. dracoin the clade Apodemus , a finding supported by Liu Qi and coworkers in 2012. Y. Kaneko performed a morphometric study of semotus in 2011 and suggested that it does not differ from A. draco . Nevertheless,since genetic distance between the two taxa is quite large and a geographic barrier exists between them, A. semotus is retained as a valid species. Monotypic.
Distribution. Taiwan. View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head-body 82-5-100 mm, tail 100-119 mm, ear 15-17 mm, hindfoot 2323-5 mm; weight 18-5-39 g. Males are larger than females. The Taiwan Field Mouseis very similar to the South China Field Mouse ( A. draco ). Chromosomal complement has 2N = 48, FN = 50.
Habitat. Found in various types of natural and degraded environments, including grasslands, broadleaf and coniferous forests, bamboo, and subalpine shrubs, natural or planted forests, farms, and houses, from 1400 m to 3700 m.
Food and Feeding. Taiwan Field Mice are omnivorous, feeding on plants, insects, and fungi.
Breeding. Reproduction can occur throughout year, with two peaks (April-May and September—October) during rainy season. Litter size 2-6 (average 3-5).
Activity patterns. Taiwan Field Mice are terrestrial.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List.
Bibliography. EllEllerman (1941), Kaneko (2011), LinLiangkong & Shiraishi (1992b), Liu Qi et al. (2012), Matsubara et al. (2004), Musser & Carleton (2005), Smith & Yan Xie (2008), Suzukiet al. (2008), Yu Hontsen (1994).
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.
