Peromyscus gossypinus Le Conte 1853

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 : 1067

Peromyscus gossypinus Le Conte 1853

Peromyscus gossypinus Le Conte 1853 , Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 6: 411.

Type Locality: USA, Georgia, Liberty Co., near Riceboro, probably Le Conte Plantation.

Vernacular Names: Cotton Deermouse.

Synonyms: Peromyscus allapaticola Schwartz 1952 ; Peromyscus anastasae Bangs 1898 ; Peromyscus cognatus (Le Conte 1855) ; Peromyscus insulanus Bangs 1898 ; Peromyscus megacephalus (Rhoads 1894) ; Peromyscus mississippiensis Rhoads 1896 ; Peromyscus nigriculus Bangs 1896 ; Peromyscus palmarius Bangs 1896 ; Peromyscus restrictus A. H. Howell 1939 ; Peromyscus telmaphilus Schwartz 1952 .

Distribution: SE USA, from SE Oklahoma, extreme S Illinois (see Feldhammer et al., 1998) and SE Virginia, southwards, skirting the S Appalachians, to E Texas, the Gulf States, and peninsular Florida.

Conservation: U.S. ESA – Endangered as P. g. allapaticola ; IUCN – Extinct as P. g. restrictus, Vulnerable as P. g. allapaticola , otherwise Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: P. leucopus species group. Lectotype based on MCZ specimen collected by Le Conte designated by Helgen (in Helgen and McFadden, 2001). Hybridization in lab documented with P. leucopus ( Bradshaw, 1968) , but genetic integrity of P. gossypinus is strongly corroborated in most field studies (Engstrom et al., 1982; Price and Kennedy, 1980; Robbins et al., 1985); limited hybridization of the two may occur in S Illinois ( Barko and Feldhammer, 2002). Subspecific realignments based on morphometric and allozymic variation of insular and continental populations presented by Boone et al. (1993); in another survey, Boone et al. (1999) documented broad geographic patterns of genetic variation and discussed their general lack of correspondence to subspecific boundaries. See Wolfe and Linzey (1977, Mammalian Species, 70).