''Apodemus'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

murid In Sufism, a (Arabic ) is a novice committed to spiritual enlightenment by (traversing a path) under a spiritual guide, who may take the title , or . A or Sufi follower only becomes a when he makes a pledge () to a . The equivalent Pers ...

(true mice and rats) containing the field mice as well as other well-known species like the

wood mouse The wood mouse (''Apodemus sylvaticus'') is a Muridae, murid rodent native to Europe and northwestern Africa. It is closely related to the yellow-necked mouse (''Apodemus flavicollis'') but differs in that it has no band of yellow fur around the ...

and the

yellow-necked mouse The yellow-necked mouse (''Apodemus flavicollis''), also called yellow-necked field mouse or yellow-necked wood mouse, is closely related to the wood mouse, with which it was long confused. It was only recognised as a separate species in 1894. I ...

. The name is unrelated to that of the ''

Mus Mus or MUS may refer to: Abbreviations * MUS, the ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 country code for Mauritius * MUS, the IATA airport code for Minami Torishima Airport * MUS, abbreviation for the Centre for Modern Urban Studies on Campus The Hague, Leiden Un ...

'' genus, instead being derived from the Greek ἀπό-δημος (literally ''away from home'').

Taxonomy

Related to the Ryūkyū spiny rats (''Tokudaia'') and the prehistoric ''

Rhagamys ''Rhagamys'' is an extinct genus of rodents in the subfamily Murinae, the Old World mice and rats. The genus was established by the Swiss zoologist Charles Immanuel Forsyth Major to accommodate ''Rhagamys orthodon'', which is the only species in ...

'' – and far more distantly to ''

'' and ''

Malacomys ''Malacomys'' is a genus of rodents in the family Muridae native to Africa. It is the only member of the tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use ...

'' – it includes these

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

''Apodemus sensu stricto''

Striped field mouse The striped field mouse (''Apodemus agrarius'') is a rodent in the family Muridae. The range of this species stretches from Eastern Europe to Eastern Asia. Synonyms Accepted synonyms include ''Apodemus albostriatus'' (Bechstein, 1801), ''Apodemu ...

, ''A. agrarius'' *

Small Japanese field mouse The small Japanese field mouse (''Apodemus argenteus'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is endemic to Japan, spanning from Hokkaido to Kyushu and is similar to its larger counterpart, '' Apodemus speciosus''. Anatomy The body ...

, ''A. argenteus'' *

Chevrier's field mouse Chevrier's field mouse (''Apodemus chevrieri'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a popu ...

, ''A. chevrieri''

''Alsomys''

South China field mouse The South China field mouse (''Apodemus draco'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in China, India, and Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the offic ...

, ''A. draco'' *

Himalayan field mouse The Himalayan field mouse (''Apodemus gurkha'') is a rodent in the family Muridae. It is endemic to Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Him ...

, ''A. gurkha'' *

Sichuan field mouse The Sichuan field mouse (''Apodemus latronum'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in Qinghai and Sichuan provinces of China, and in India and Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and ...

, ''A. latronum'' * Korean field mouse, ''A. peninsulae'' *

Taiwan field mouse The Taiwan field mouse, also called Formosan wood mouse (''Apodemus semotus''), is a species of rodent in the family Muridae The Muridae, or murids, are either the largest or second-largest family of rodents and of mammals, containing approxima ...

, ''A. semotus'' *

Large Japanese field mouse The large Japanese field mouse (''Apodemus speciosus'') is a nocturnal species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is endemic to Japan. Distribution and habitat The species appears to be present on all Japanese islands. It inhabits forests, gras ...

, ''A. speciosus''

''Sylvaemus''

Alpine field mouse The alpine field mouse (''Apodemus alpicola'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae The Muridae, or murids, are either the largest or second-largest family of rodents and of mammals, containing approximately 870 species, including man ...

, ''A. alpicola'' *

Yellow-necked mouse The yellow-necked mouse (''Apodemus flavicollis''), also called yellow-necked field mouse or yellow-necked wood mouse, is closely related to the wood mouse, with which it was long confused. It was only recognised as a separate species in 1894. I ...

, ''A. flavicollis'' – includes ''A. arianus'' * Caucasus field mouse, ''A. hyrcanicus'' *

Ward's field mouse Ward's field mouse (''Apodemus pallipes'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, India, Iran, Nepal, and Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a cou ...

, ''A. pallipes'' *

Black Sea field mouse The Black Sea field mouse (''Apodemus ponticus'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, possibly Iran, Iraq, Russian Federation, and Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye ...

, ''A. ponticus'' *

Wood mouse The wood mouse (''Apodemus sylvaticus'') is a Muridae, murid rodent native to Europe and northwestern Africa. It is closely related to the yellow-necked mouse (''Apodemus flavicollis'') but differs in that it has no band of yellow fur around the ...

, ''A. sylvaticus'' *

Ural field mouse The Ural field mouse (''Apodemus uralensis'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is also known as the pygmy field mouse. It is found in Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgi ...

, ''A. uralensis'' ** Pygmy field mouse, ''A. u. microps'' ** Cimrman Ural field mouse, ''A. u. cimrmani'' *

Steppe field mouse The steppe field mouse (''Apodemus witherbyi'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae found in Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Israel, Palestine, Turkey, Jordan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Lebanon, Syria, the Greek island of Rhodes, Ukraine and pos ...

, ''A. witherbyi''

''Karstomys ''

* Western broad-toothed field mouse, ''A. epimelas'' * Eastern broad-toothed field mouse, ''A. mystacinus'' * Kashmir field mouse, ''A. rusiges''

Incertae sedis

*''

Apodemus avicennicus ''Apodemus avicennicus'' is a species of rodent found in Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the ...

'' Darvish, Javidkar & Siahsarvie, 2006 Prehistoric species described from

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

remains include: * ''A. gorafensis'' (Late Miocene/Early Pliocene of Italy) * ''A. dominans'' (Kolzoi 1959)