Slevin's mouse (''Peromyscus slevini''), also known as the Catalina deer mouse, 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 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 ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found els ...

to Isla Santa Catalina off the east coast of

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 ...

, an island with an area of about , and it is the only native mammal on the island. It is named for Joseph Slevin, a curator at the

California Academy of Sciences The California Academy of Sciences is a research institute and natural history museum in San Francisco, California, that is among the largest museums of natural history in the world, housing over 46 million specimens. The Academy began in 18 ...

. Slevin's mouse is a large-bodied mouse, measuring about in total length, of which are the tail. They have pale cinnamon fur, mixed with dusky hairs, over the body, head, and flanks, with near-white underparts. They appear very similar to the related California mouse, but are paler in color and slightly larger. However, it may be most closely related to the

North American deer mouse ''Peromyscus maniculatus'' is a rodent native to eastern North America. It is most commonly called the eastern deer mouse; when formerly grouped with the western deer mouse (''P. sonoriensis''), it was referred to as the North American deermou ...

. The species is threatened by competition with the introduced Northern Baja deer mouse, which was probably introduced by local fishermen.

References

Peromyscus Mammals described in 1924 Fauna of Gulf of California islands Endemic mammals of Mexico Endemic fauna of the Baja California Peninsula Endangered animals Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Peromyscus-stub