Earth-colored mouse

The earth-colored mouse (Mus terricolor) is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in India, possibly Indonesia, Nepal, and Pakistan. The earth-colored mouse lives in cultivated fields in raised moist mounds of Earth, where they burrow and locate their nest about 20 cm or 8 inches deep.[2] Living in a raised mound of soil offers them more oxygen flow from air coming through the surrounding sides as well as from above. In contrast, their co-existing sibling species Mus booduga burrow in the flat parts of the field, which allows for niche differentiation.

Earth-colored mouse

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Muridae
Genus: Mus
Species:
M. terricolor
Binomial name
Mus terricolor
Blyth, 1851
Synonyms

Mus dunni

References

  1. Aplin, K. (2008). "Mus terricolor". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008: e.T13987A4379161. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T13987A4379161.en.
  2. Singh, S., Cheong, N., Narayan, G., Sharma, T. Burrow characteristics of the co-existing sibling species Mus booduga and Mus terricolor and the genetic basis of adaptation to hypoxic/hypercapnic stress. BMC Ecology, (2009).


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