Kashmir field mouse

Kashmir field mouse
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Muridae
Genus:	Apodemus
Species:	A. rusiges
Binomial name
Apodemus rusiges Miller, 1913

The Kashmir field mouse (Apodemus rusiges) is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in India, Nepal, and Pakistan.

Behaviour

Kashmir field mouse are nocturnal, terrestrial, and excellent climbers. They make grass-lined nests inside of burrows dug beneath tree roots, where they spend the day resting or taking care of their young. Even though many mice share the same burrow, the female does not allow the males to enter the burrow. They are herbivore, feeding mainly on seeds and berries, it also stores food for the winter season.^[2]

Description

The Kashmir mouse is very similar to the Himalayan mouse (A. pallipes), but larger in size, with a larger skull and a longer bicolour tail (80-114% of head-body length, average 95%). The back is dark brownish grey, sometimes with a median dorsal stripe, and the peritoneum is greyish white. Some individual have a longitudinal yellow hairline on the chest and throat. Females have three pairs of mammae.^[2]

Breeding

The Kashmir mouse breeds in spring and summer. Females produce four or five litters per year, with an average of five to six youngs per litter. The gestation period is 25-26 days. Cubs are born blind and naked and become sexually mature at 12-14 weeks of age.^[2]

References

• Musser, G.G.; Carleton, M.D. (2005). "Superfamily Muroidea". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 1273. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.

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