The cotton mouse (''Peromyscus gossypinus'') is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals 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

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

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 in the woodlands of the

US South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

Description

Adults are about long, with a tail around , and weigh 34-51 g. Its general appearance is very similar to the

white-footed mouse The white-footed mouse (''Peromyscus leucopus'') is a rodent native to North America from Ontario, Quebec, Labrador, and the Maritime Provinces (excluding the island of Newfoundland) to the southwestern United States and Mexico. In the Maritimes ...

, but the cotton mouse is larger in size and has a longer skull and hind feet. They have dark brown bodies and white feet and bellies. The common name derives from the observed habit of using raw cotton in building nests. One subspecies, the

Chadwick Beach cotton mouse The Chadwick Beach cotton mouse (''Peromyscus gossypinus restrictus'') is a presumably extinct subspecies of the cotton mouse. It was confined to a small area on the Manasota Key Peninsula in Florida. Description It was smaller and paler than ...

(''P. g. restrictus'') was last seen in 1938 and is now presumed extinct. Another subspecies, the

Key Largo cotton mouse The Key Largo cotton mouse (''Peromyscus gossypinus allapaticola'') is a subspecies of the cotton mouse (''Peromyscus gossypinus'') and is found on Key Largo in the upper Florida Keys. It is a slightly larger mouse with a more reddish color tha ...

(''P. g. allapaticola'') is currently on the

United States Fish and Wildlife Service list of endangered species This is a list of the bird and mammal species and subspecies described as endangered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. It contains species and subspecies not only in the U.S. and its territories, but also those only found in other par ...

Distribution and habitat

The cotton mouse occurs in the Southeastern United States in an area roughly bordered by southeastern Virginia, Florida, Texas, and Kentucky. It makes use of a variety of habitats, including hardwood forests, swamps, the margins of cleared fields, edges of salt savanna and dunes, scrub, and rocky bluffs and ledges. They probably prefer terrain that is regularly inundated. Once native to Illinois, it is now considered

extirpated Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...

from that state. Cotton mice use underground refuges such as stump holes, tree cavities, root boles, and burrows where they can avoid predators and wild fires. Such underground refuges also provide lower temperature and humidity during the summer season. Most ''Peromyscus'' species show great decrease in population after fire events through emigration, increase in predation, or from direct damage by fire from

loss of habitat Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

/protection. However, due to the behavior of using underground refuges, cotton mice are to survive with no significant loss of population from the fire.

Ecology

Cotton mice are

omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nut ...

, and eat seeds and insects. Breeding may occur throughout the year, and usually occurs in early spring and fall. They may have four litters a year of up to seven young, which are helpless and naked at birth. Cotton mice are weaned at 20–25 days, and become sexually mature around two months. Lifespans are four to five months, with a rare few living to one year. They are preyed upon by owls, snakes, weasels, and bobcats. Cotton mice are also parasitized by ''

Cuterebra fontinella ''Cuterebra fontinella'', the mouse bot fly, is a species of New World skin bot fly in the family Oestridae. ''C. fontinella'' is typically around in length with a black and yellow color pattern. ''C. fontinella'' develops by parasitizing nutrien ...

'', the mouse botfly. The

golden mouse The golden mouse (''Ochrotomys nuttalli'') is a species of New World mouse. It is usually 5–8 inches (12–25 cm) in body length, and has a soft pelage that ranges from golden-brownish to burnt orange in color. The genus name come ...

(''Ochrotomys nuttalli'') has similar characteristics and shares similar habitat and geographic regions with the cotton mouse. The coexistence of the two being possible when sharing similar habitat was due to their use of the common refuges had different daily and seasonal patterns. The cotton mouse shows broader selection in choosing refuges as they switch from one to the other, which is suggested to be the most significant component for such relationship to be possible. Due to their small population size and reduced chances of reproduction, evidence for cotton mouse hybridizing with white-footed mouse has been found. Although they are known to be conspecific, hybridization will occur when limited options for reproduction are available. Identification through toe-clip sampling made possible finding hybridization between the cotton mouse and the white-footed mouse on a heterozygous GPI-1 marker.

Description

Distribution and habitat

Ecology

References

Further reading