Macedonian mouse
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Muridae
Genus: Mus
Species:
M. macedonicus
Binomial name
Mus macedonicus
Petrov & Ruzic, 1983

The Macedonian mouse (Mus macedonicus) is a species of rodent in the family Muridae and order Rodentia. This rodent lives in the area from eastern Georgia and western Bulgaria to Israel.[2] It is considered part of a Palearctic group along with three other species: the house mouse, steppe mouse, and Algerian mouse.[3]

Description

The Macedonian mouse is a small rodent, weighing 15 grams (0.53 oz).[4] Fur color is variable across its range; in a study of numerous specimens in Turkey, Macedonian mice were found to have back colors ranging from dark brown to pale light brown to dark-reddish brown.[5] There is a distinct line of demarcation along the flanks that separates top and bottom coloration.[5] The bottom coloration ranged from whitish grey, pure white, yellowish white, and reddish white.[5] The ears have tiny white hairs.[5] This rodent has a tail that is dark brown on top and lighter on bottom.[5] The bottoms of the Macedonian mouse's feet are bare while the tops of their feet have white hairs.[5] Macedeonan mice are nocturnal.[4]

Morphology

The sutura squamalis has distinction from other species because it is smoothed or protrudes slightly forward.[5] The upper portion of the zygomatic arch is also narrower than the lower portion.[5] Macedonian mice found in Israel are smaller than their northern counterparts.[2]

Physiology

Body mass of Macedonian mice exposed to short photoperiods increased - essentially they got bigger to stay warmer when it is cold.[4] The short photoperiods also increased their resistance to cold while long photoperiods increased their ability to manage higher temperatures.[4] Food consumption and waste production are lower in the mice that have longer photoperiods.[4] These physiological changes allow the mice to be well adapted to the changes that occur in the Mediterranean on a seasonal basis.[4] This mouse also shows a genetic tendency for glial fibrillary acidic protein in their lens epithelial cells.[6] This is a new marker of polymorphism in the genus Mus.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Kryštufek, B.; Vohralík, V. (2017) [errata version of 2016 assessment]. "Mus macedonicus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T13966A115117069. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T13966A22404035.en. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  2. 1 2 Orth, A. "Two Deeply Divergent Mitochondrial clades in the wild mouse Mus macedonicus reveal multiple glacial refuges south of Caucasus". Heredity. 89: 353–357. doi:10.1038/sj.hdy.6800147.
  3. ↑ Suzuki, Hitoshi. "Temporal, spatial, and ecological modes of evolution of Eurasian Mus based on mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequences". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 33: 626–646. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2004.08.003.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Haim, A. (1999). "The thermoregulatory and metabolic responses to photoperiod manipulations of the Macedonian mouse (Mus macedonicus), a post-fire invader". Journal of Thermal Biology. 24: 279–286. doi:10.1016/s0306-4565(99)00024-8.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Colat, Ercument. "The Morphological Analysis of Mus domesticus and Mus macedonicus (Mammalia: Rodentia) in Turkey". Tubitak. 30: 309–317.
  6. 1 2 Boyer, Sylvie. "Recent evolutionary origin of the expression of the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in lens epithelial cells. A molecular and genetic analysis of various mouse species". Molecular Brain Research. 10.
  • 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.
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