Peromyscus levipes Merriam 1898

Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Rodentia - Family Cricetidae, Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 2, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 955-1189 : 1070

Peromyscus levipes Merriam 1898

Peromyscus levipes Merriam 1898 , Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., 12: 123.

Type Locality: México, Tlaxcala, Mt Malinche, 8400 ft (2560 m).

Vernacular Names: Nimble-footed Deermouse.

Synonyms: Peromyscus ambiguus Alvarez 1961 .

Distribution: C Nuevo León and W Tamaulipas, in and along the Sierra Madre Oriental, to C Veracruz, Tlaxcala, Distrito Federal, and Morelos, México.

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: P. boylii species group. Systematic studies have confirmed sympatry of P. boylii rowleyi and P. levipes in Queretaro and Hidalgo and supported its elevation to species ( Houseal et al., 1987; Rennert and Kilpatrick, 1987; Schmidly et al., 1988; Sullivan et al., 1991). The taxon baetae was provisionally retained by Carleton (1989) under P. levipes , whereas Schmidly et al. (1988) viewed it as a cryptic species distinct from P. levipes , a treatment borne out by subsequent studies (see above account). Includes ambiguus as a definable subspecies based on morphometric and gene-sequence evidence ( Castro-Campillo et al., 1999); geographic and nongeographic variation, subspecific distributions, and nomenclatural changes summarized by Castro-Campillo et al. (1999).