Eva's desert mouse (''Peromyscus eva'') is a species of

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are roden ...

in the genus ''

Peromyscus ''Peromyscus'' is a genus of rodents. They are commonly referred to as deer mice or deermice, not to be confused with the chevrotain or "mouse deer". They are New World mice only distantly related to the common house and laboratory mouse, ''Mu ...

'' of the family

Cricetidae The Cricetidae are a family of rodents in the large and complex superfamily Muroidea. It includes true hamsters, voles, lemmings, muskrats, and New World rats and mice. At almost 608 species, it is the second-largest family of mammals, a ...

found only in the Baja California peninsula of Mexico.Musser, G. G. and M. D. Carleton. 2005. Superfamily Muroidea. Pp. 894-1531 ''in'' Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder eds. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.

Description

Eva's desert mouse measures from head to rump, on average, and has a tail. They weigh between . The fur is russet or buff in color over most of the body, with pale grey markings on the nose, cheeks, and around the eyes. The ears are pale brown and almost hairless, and the underparts creamy white. It can most clearly be distinguished from the

cactus mouse The cactus mouse (''Peromyscus eremicus'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is a species of the genus '' Peromyscus'', a closely related group of New World mice often called "deermice" (although the term more commonly refers s ...

, which is found in the same geographical region, by the shape of the

baculum The baculum (also penis bone, penile bone, or ''os penis'', ''os genitale'' or ''os priapi'') is a bone found in the penis of many placental mammals. It is absent from the human penis, but present in the penises of some primates, such as the ...

, although it is also typically darker in color, and with a longer tail. Little is known of the animal's biology, although it is usually found close to succulent plants, and appears to breed between February and July.

Distribution and habitat

Eva's desert mouse lives only in the southern part of the Baja California peninsula in Mexico. Within this region, it inhabits scrubland habitats below dominated by plants such as cholla, ''

Jatropha ''Jatropha'' is a genus of flowering plants in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae. The name is derived from the Greek words ἰατρός (''iatros''), meaning "physician", and τροφή (''trophe''), meaning "nutrition", hence the common name ...

'', and organ-pipe cactus, and in agricultural land. Two subspecies have been identified: * ''Peromyscus eva eva'' - Mainland

Baja California Sur Baja California Sur (; 'South Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California Sur), is the least populated state and the 31st admitted state of the 32 federal ent ...

* ''Peromyscus eva carmeni'' - Carmen Island, in the Bahía de Loreto National Park

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1767515 Peromyscus Endemic mammals of Mexico Rodents of North America Endemic fauna of the Baja California Peninsula Fauna of Gulf of California islands Fauna of the Sonoran Desert Natural history of Baja California Sur Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges Mammals described in 1898 Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas Least concern biota of North America Taxonomy articles created by Polbot