White-ankled mouse facts for kids
Quick facts for kids White-ankled mouse |
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|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Peromyscus
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| Species: |
pectoralis
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The white-ankled mouse (Peromyscus pectoralis) is a small rodent from the Cricetidae family, which includes many mice and hamsters. You can find this mouse in Mexico and parts of the United States, specifically in New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.
This mouse often lives in the same areas as the brush mouse and Texas mouse. Because they look quite similar, it can sometimes be tricky to tell them apart. Scientists often look at specific features to identify each species correctly.
Contents
What the White-Ankled Mouse Looks Like
White-ankled mice change their fur as they grow up. They have three main fur types during their lives:
- Juvenile: This is their first fur when they are young.
- Subadult: They get this fur as they become teenagers.
- Adult: This is their final fur as grown-up mice.
To get these different fur types, they go through two molting phases. Molting is when an animal sheds its old fur to grow new fur.
In Texas, the white-ankled mouse looks a bit different from the Texas mouse. It has shorter back feet and its ankles are white. Its fur is also lighter in color, and its tail has two clear colors, making it easy to spot.
Compared to the Brush mouse, the white-ankled mouse has smaller molar teeth. It also has white ankles and shorter hair at the end of its tail. These small details help scientists tell the different mouse species apart.
Where They Live and Their Home
It can be hard to know exactly where white-ankled mice live because they look so much like other mice. For example, in New Mexico, many old records of where these mice lived were based on mistakes. Scientists later checked museum specimens and used live traps. They found that the white-ankled mouse actually lives much further north than first thought. Its known living area expanded by about 225 kilometers!
Scientists have studied the small living spaces, called microhabitats, of these mice. They found that the Texas mouse likes to use trees, but the white-ankled mouse does not. Even when Texas mice were removed from an area, the white-ankled mice still stayed away from the trees. This suggests that white-ankled mice naturally prefer certain places and not others. They don't just avoid trees because other mice are using them.
The white-ankled mouse loves rocky and bushy areas. You can find them in many different places like deserts, grasslands, and woodlands.
What the White-Ankled Mouse Eats
White-ankled mice enjoy eating a variety of seeds. Some of their favorite foods include hackberries, acorns, juniper berries, and cactus fruit. They are good at finding food in their rocky and bushy homes.
See also
In Spanish: Peromyscus pectoralis para niños
