Peromyscus crinitus

Geographic Range

Canyon mice are native to North America and can be found from central Oregon to northern Baja California, throughout western Nevada, northern Arizona, most of Utah, and in the inter-montane regions of western Colorado.

• Biogeographic Regions
• nearctic nearctic
  • native native

Habitat

Canyon mice prefer arid habitat types and can be found from deserts below sea level to forested montane areas. They are restricted to rocky habitat, and vegetative cover type has little influence on their distribution. Canyon mice can also be found in desert or dune habitat and forage in areas with shrub-like vegetation, which they use for cover when presented with a potential threat.

• Habitat Regions
• temperate temperate
• terrestrial terrestrial

• Terrestrial Biomes
• desert or dune desert or dune
• forest forest
• mountains mountains

Physical Description

Peromyscus crinitus is a relatively small rodent that ranges from 162 to 191 mm in head-body length, with an average of 175 mm. The tail ranges from 80 to 118 mm long and adult mass ranges from 13 to 23 g, with an average of 17 g. The dorsum is covered in brown, black, golden brown, or gray fur and the venter is typically white. Its tail and ears are sparsely furred and their ears and feet, which are approximately equal in length, are tufted. It has long white vibrissae on the snout and large black eyes. Sexual dimorphism has not been reported in this species.

• Other Physical Features
• endothermic endothermic
• homoiothermic
• bilateral symmetry bilateral symmetry

• Sexual Dimorphism
• sexes alike

Reproduction

Peromyscus crinitus is polygynous, and like many other species of Peromyscus , it is solitary and is social only during breeding season. After parturition, mated pairs separate and females become extremely territorial, chasing out any conspecifics that wander into their home range. Little else is known of this species' reproductive behavior in the wild.

• Mating System
• polygynous polygynous

Peromyscus crinitus breeds year-round, however, reproductive activity peaks during spring (March through May). Estrus lasts for 6.1 days. When lactating, gestation ranges from 29 to 31 days, and 24 to 25 days otherwise. Litter size ranges from 1 to 5 pups with a mean of 3.4, and average birth weight is 2.2 g per pup. Peromyscus crinitus has about 2 litters per year, but as many as 8 have been recorded. Pups are altricial at birth, having only small amounts of fur and pigmentation. They are completely defenseless after parturition and rely on their mother for nutrition and protection. Weaning begins at 21 to 30 days after birth and continues until young are fully independent around 6 to 8 weeks old. Most pups become sexually mature between 4 and 6 weeks after parturition.

• Key Reproductive Features
• iteroparous iteroparous
• seasonal breeding seasonal breeding
• gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
• sexual sexual
• viviparous viviparous

Peromyscus crinitus females nurse pups until weaning, which occurs between 21 and 30 days after parturition. After weaning, young continue to depend on their mother for an additional 4 to 6 months before becoming fully independent. While nesting, females continually maintain the nest. No information regarding paternal care has been reported for this species.

• Parental Investment
• precocial precocial
• female parental care female parental care
• pre-hatching/birth
  • provisioning
    • female
  • protecting
    • female
• pre-weaning/fledging
  • provisioning
    • female
  • protecting
    • female
• pre-independence
  • provisioning
    • female
  • protecting
    • female

Lifespan/Longevity

There is no information available regarding the lifespan of Peromyscus crinitus . Close relatives, P. maniculatus bairdii and P. maniculatus gracilis , have been known to live up to 15 years in captivity. Typically, wild mice have a very short lifespan, on the range of 1 to 3 years.

Behavior

Female-male encounters are more aggressive than female-female interactions, but less aggressive than male-male interactions. After parturition, Peromyscus crinitus males leave the nest site, and females serve as the primary care giver to developing pups. When excited, P. crinitus thumps the ground with its hind feet, and when aggressive, it chatters its teeth. It is nocturnal, and enters torpor when resources are severely limited (i.e. lack of water and food) or during periods of low temperatures (1 to 5 C). Sand bathing removes natural oils from the fur and prevents it from becoming matted down. Peromyscus crinitus is an average swimmers and diggers. It is very agile and is a much better climbers and runners than most species of Peromyscus . In lab trials, P. crinitus quickly solves complex mazes without reward.

• Key Behaviors
• terricolous
• nocturnal nocturnal
• motile motile
• sedentary sedentary
• daily torpor
• solitary solitary
• territorial territorial

Home Range

Peromyscus crinitus exhibits intersexual range over lap; however, individuals of the same sex occupy distinct ranges. Home ranges are often between 3500 and 3800 m^2, and male and female home ranges are similar in size.

Communication and Perception

Vocalizations are an important form of communication in canyon mice, especially in young, which often squeak while being cared for by their mother. When injured, adults make brief squeaking sounds, and when defending the nest, they often make "chit" sounds. When excited, canyon mice thump the ground with their hind feet, and when aggressive, they chatter their teeth.

• Communication Channels
• acoustic acoustic
• chemical chemical

• Other Communication Modes
• pheromones pheromones
• scent marks scent marks

• Perception Channels
• visual visual
• tactile tactile
• acoustic acoustic
• vibrations vibrations
• chemical chemical

Food Habits

Although canyon mice are omnivorous, primarily forage includes plant products such as seeds, leaves, and fruit. Other important food items include various species of insect . Canyon mice cache food for consumption during winter.

• Primary Diet
• omnivore omnivore

• Animal Foods
• insects

• Plant Foods
• leaves
• seeds, grains, and nuts
• fruit

• Foraging Behavior
• stores or caches food stores or caches food

Predation

Although there is no information regarding predators specific to Peromyscus crinitus , typical predators for other species of Peromyscus include ermine , long-tailed weasels , coyotes , red foxes , Canada lynx , and a number of other mammalian carnivores. Peromyscus crinitus is also preyed upon by owls such as barn owls , great-horned owls and barred owls , and a number of different snake species. It's coloration helps camouflage it from potential predators and likely helps decrease risk of predation.

• Anti-predator Adaptations
• cryptic cryptic

Ecosystem Roles

Canyon mice are omnivores that consume both insects and plant material. They are important seed dispersers throughout their geographic range and may help control insect pest populations as well. They are host to a number of different endoparasites, including tapeworms and roundworms , and are also vulnerable to a number of different ectoparasites such as ticks , chiggers , mites , fleas , botflies and warble flies .

• Ecosystem Impact
• disperses seeds

Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

Peromyscus crinitus has been used to investigate chromosomal function, and its lungs cells are used in biomedical research investigating the effects of antitumor antibiotics on mitosis.

• Positive Impacts
• research and education

Economic Importance for Humans: Negative

There are no known adverse effects of Peromyscus crinitus on humans.

Conservation Status

Peromyscus crinitus is classified as a species of least concern on the IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species. It has a rapid reproductive rate and local population densities can be high. Although there are no known major threats to this species, population densities can be significantly impacted by the presence of other species of Peromyscus or other omnivorous rodents. For example, when Neotoma lepida was removed during a competitive interactions study, P. crinitus populations increased 130% over their original numbers and 87% when Peromyscus eremicus was removed.

Additional Links

Encyclopedia of Life

Contributors

Hector Rodriguez (author), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Phil Myers (editor), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, John Berini (editor), Animal Diversity Web Staff.

References

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Hall, Ph. D., E., K. Kelson, Ph. D.. 1959. Mammals of North America . New York: The Ronald Press Company.

Johnson, D., D. Armstrong. 1987. Peromyscus crinitus. Mammalian Species , no. 287: 1-8. Accessed April 02, 2011 at http://www.science.smith.edu/departments/Biology/VHAYSSEN/msi/ .

Matthews, L. 1971. Life of Mammals, vol II . New York, New York: Universe Books.

Mullen, R. 1971. Energy Metabolism of Peromyscus crinitus in its Natural Environment. Journal of Mammalogy, Vol. 52, No. 3 (Aug., 1971), pp. 633-635 , 52/3: 633-635. Accessed April 03, 2011 at http://www.jstor.org.proxy.lib.umich.edu/stable/pdfplus/1378611.pdf .

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Shurtliff, Q., D. Pearse, D. Rogers. 2005. Parentage Percentage of the Canyon Mouse (Peromyscus crinitus): Evidence for Multiple Maternity. Journal of Mammalogy , 86/3: 531-540. Accessed April 03, 2011 at http://www.jstor.org.proxy.lib.umich.edu/stable/pdfplus/4094321.pdf?acceptTC=true .