St Kilda House Mouse
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| St Kilda House Mouse | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservation status | ||||||||||||||||
|
Extinct (EX)
|
||||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
| Trinomial name | ||||||||||||||||
| Mus musculus muralis |
The St Kilda House Mouse (Mus musculus muralis) was a subspecies of the house mouse found only in the St Kilda archipelago in northwest Scotland.
It is uncertain when they arrived in the islands, but it is possible that they were unwittingly transported there during the Norse period. Because of the islands' isolation, the St Kilda House Mouse was larger than the mainland varieties, though it had a number of traits in common with a subspecies found on Mykines in the Faroe Islands, Mus musculus mykinessiensis.[1]
When the people of St Kilda were evacuated in 1930, the endemic house mouse became extinct very quickly,[2] as it was strictly associated with settlements and buildings. Some mounted specimens exist in museums.
The St Kilda Field Mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus hirtensis) is still in existence.
[edit] References
[edit] Sources
- Harrisson, T. H. and J. A. Moy-Thomas. 1933. The Mice of St Kilda, with Especial Reference to Their Prospects of Extinction and Present Status. The Journal of Animal Ecology, 2: 109-115.
- Musser, G. G. and M. D. Carleton. 2005. Superfamily Muroidea. Pp. 894-1531 in Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder eds. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
