''Mus mayori'' is a species of rodent in the genus '' Mus'', the mice. Its common names include Mayor's mouse, highland rat, and spiny mouse. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. This mouse lives in tropical and subtropical forest types and wet

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

habitat. It is

fossorial A fossorial animal () is one that is adapted to digging and which lives primarily (but not solely) underground. Examples of fossorial vertebrates are Mole (animal), moles, badgers, naked mole-rats, meerkats, armadillos, wombats, and mole salamand ...

, seeking shelter by digging burrows. It is

nocturnal Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatur ...

. This species is widespread in parts of Sri Lanka but it faces a number of threats, including

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. Ab ...

and domestic cats. There are two subspecies, ''M. m. mayori'' and ''M. m. pococki''. A recent study catalogued the

parasites Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The en ...

associated with subspecies ''pococki'': a

mite Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods) of two large orders, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari. However, most recent genetic analyses do not recover the two as eac ...

of genus '' Echinolaelaps'', a

tick Ticks are parasitic arachnids of the order Ixodida. They are part of the mite superorder Parasitiformes. Adult ticks are approximately 3 to 5 mm in length depending on age, sex, and species, but can become larger when engorged. Ticks a ...

of genus '' Ixodes'', and the

sucking louse Sucking lice (known scientifically as Anoplura) are a parvorder of around 550 species of lice. All sucking lice are blood-feeding ectoparasites of mammals. They can cause localized skin irritations and are vectors of several blood-borne disea ...

'' Polyplax spinulosa''. A new species of

pseudoscorpion Pseudoscorpions, also known as false scorpions or book scorpions, are small, scorpion-like arachnids belonging to the order Pseudoscorpiones, also known as Pseudoscorpionida or Chelonethida. Pseudoscorpions are generally beneficial to humans bec ...

was found on the mouse, described, and named '' Megachernes kanneliyensis''. The mouse also carries the native Sri Lankan

flea Flea, the common name for the order (biology), order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by hematophagy, ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult f ...

'' Stivalius phoberus''.Yathramullage, S., Meegaskumbura, M., and Meegaskumbura, S. (2014)
Record of five new endemic small mammal hosts for four ectoparasite species from Sri Lanka.
''Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology'' 17 473-476.

References

External links

*Wilson, D. E. & Reeder, D. M
''Mus'' (''Coelomys'') ''mayori''.
''Mammal Species of the World''. Third Edition. Johns Hopkins University Press. Mus (rodent) Rodents of Sri Lanka Endemic fauna of Sri Lanka Mammals described in 1915 Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Mus-stub