The sheath-tailed mouse (''Mus fragilicauda'') is a
mouse
A mouse (: mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus'' ...
found in two locations in central
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
and in
Laos
Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
.
They were discovered and documented in 2002. It is the only known ''Mus'' species to lose its tail
integument
In biology, an integument is the tissue surrounding an organism's body or an organ within, such as skin, a husk, Exoskeleton, shell, germ or Peel (fruit), rind.
Etymology
The term is derived from ''integumentum'', which is Latin for "a coverin ...
when handled. It is sometimes found with the
fawn-colored mouse.
Range
In
Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Thailand, ''Mus fragilicauda'' has been recorded in Ban Nong Sanga and Tumbon. It has also been recorded in
Loei, Thailand and in Lamam,
Sekong Province, Laos.
References
External links
Zoologica documentation
Mus (rodent)
Mammals described in 2003
{{Mus-stub