Peromyscus maniculatus Wagner 1845

Peromyscus maniculatus Wagner 1845, Arch. Naturgesch., 11 (1): 148.

Type Locality: Canada, Labrador, Moravian settlements.

Vernacular Names: North American Deermouse.

Synonyms: Peromyscus abietorum Bangs 1896; Peromyscus akeleyi Elliot 1899; Peromyscus alpinus Cowan 1937; Peromyscus anacapae von Bloeker 1942; Peromyscus angustus Hall 1932; Peromyscus anticostiensis Moulthrop 1937; Peromyscus arcticus (Coues 1877); Peromyscus arcticus (Mearns 1890); Peromyscus argentatus Copeland and Church 1906; Peromyscus artemisiae (Rhoads 1894); Peromyscus assimilis Nelson and Goldman 1931; Peromyscus austerus (Baird 1855); Peromyscus bairdii (Hoy and Kennicott 1857); Peromyscus bairdii (Coues 1877); Peromyscus balaclavae McCabe and Cowan 1945; Peromyscus blandus Osgood 1904; Peromyscus borealis Mearns 1911; Peromyscus canadensis (Miller 1893); Peromyscus catalinae Elliot 1903; Peromyscus cineritius J. A. Allen 1898; Peromyscus clementis Mearns 1896; Peromyscus coolidgei Thomas 1898; Peromyscus deserticolus (Mearns 1890); Peromyscus dorsalis Nelson and Goldman 1931; Peromyscus dubius J. A. Allen 1898; Peromyscus elusus Nelson and Goldman 1931; Peromyscus eremus Osgood 1909; Peromyscus exiguus J. A. Allen 1898; Peromyscus exterus Nelson and Goldman 1931; Peromyscus fulvus Osgood 1904; Peromyscus gambelii (Baird 1857); Peromyscus georgiensis Hall 1938; Peromyscus geronimensis J. A. Allen 1898; Peromyscus gracilis (Le Conte 1855); Peromyscus gunnisoni Goldman 1937; Peromyscus hollisteri Osgood 1909; Peromyscus hueyi Nelson and Goldman 1932; Peromyscus imperfectus Dice 1925; Peromyscus inclarus Goldman 1939; Peromyscus insolatus (Rhoads 1894); Peromyscus labecula Elliot 1903; Peromyscus luteus Osgood 1905; Peromyscus magdalenae Osgood 1909; Peromyscus margaritae Osgood 1909; Peromyscus martinensis Nelson and Goldman 1931; Peromyscus medius Mearns 1896; Peromyscus nebrascensis (Coues 1877); Peromyscus nebrascensis (Mearns 1890); Peromyscus nubiterrae Rhoads 1896; Peromyscus oresterus Elliot 1903; Peromyscus osgoodi Mearns 1911; Peromyscus ozarkiarum Black 1935; Peromyscus pallescens J. A. Allen 1896; Peromyscus perimekurus Elliot 1903; Peromyscus plumbeus C. F. Jackson 1939; Peromyscus rubidus Osgood 1901; Peromyscus rufinus (Merriam 1890); Peromyscus sanctaerosae von Bloeker 1940; Peromyscus santacruzae Nelson and Goldman 1931; Peromyscus saturatus Bangs 1897; Peromyscus saxamans McCabe and Cowan 1945; Peromyscus serratus Davis 1939; Peromyscus sonoriensis (Le Conte 1853); Peromyscus streatori Nelson and Goldman 1931; Peromyscus subarcticus J. A. Allen 1899; Peromyscus thurberi (J. A. Allen 1893); Peromyscus umbrinus Miller 1897.

Distribution: Panhandle of Alaska and across N Canada, south through most of continental USA, excluding the SE and E seaboard, to southernmost Baja California Sur and to NC Oaxaca, México; including many landbridge islands.

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (nt) as P. m. anacapae and P. m. clementis, otherwise Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: P. maniculatus species group. A broadly distributed and morphologically highly variable form once confused with many taxa now reallocated to P. leucopus (see Osgood, 1909). Formerly included long-tailed populations in NW North America recently separated as P. keeni. Status and relationships of P. maniculatus have been extensively addressed with regard to P. keeni (or as its junior synonyms oreas and sitkensis — Allard et al., 1987; Allard and Greenbaum, 1988; Gunn and Greenbaum, 1986; Hogan et al., 1993, 1997; Zheng et al., 2003), P. melanotis (Bowers, 1974; Bowers et al., 1973; Greenbaum and Baker, 1978), P. polionotus (Avise et al., 1979; Hogan et al., 1997; Robbins and Baker, 1981), and P. sejugis (Avise et al., 1979; Hafner et al., 2001; Hogan et al., 1997; Lawlor, 1983); see those accounts.

Regional studies of geographic variation have clarified distributions and realigned certain subspecific ranges: e.g., populations in N Wisconsin and on islands in the N Great Lakes (Long and Long, 1993); those in S Maine (Kilpatrick et al., 1994); those in Arizona (Hoffmeister, 1986); those inhabiting the Llano Estacado, N Texas and vicinity (Cooper et al., 1993); and those at the southern end of the Mexican Plateau, C México (Nanez-Jiminez and Martínez-Coronel, 1995). Differences in craniodental shape according to dietary consistency investigated using laboratory animals by Myers et al. (1996), who discussed their bearing on systematic interpretations among wild populations. Probable extinction of San Roque Isl population (cineritius) reported by Alvarez-Castañeda and Cortes-Calva (1999).

Even after removal of long-tailed populations in NW North America (i.e., P. keeni), appreciable variation in morphological, chromosomal, and biochemical data still cautions that more than one species is represented among the short-tailed (e.g., bairdii) and long-tailed (e.g., gracilis, nubiterrae) morphotypes in C and NE North America (Bradshaw and Hsu, 1972; Calhoun et al., 1988; Koh and Peterson, 1983; Lansman et al., 1983; Myers Uncie et al., 1998). Trees derived from mitochondrial DNA sequences represent maniculatus as paraphyletic with respect to P. keeni and P. sejugis (Hogan et al. 1997). Meaningful delineation of subspecies can only be achieved within the context of this much needed revision; see Hall (1981) for conventional arrangement of races (excepting those now removed to P. keeni).