Peromyscus leucopus (Rafinesque); White-footed Mouse

Don Linzey & Christy Brecht
Wytheville Community College
Wytheville, Virginia 24382

Species Description

Phylogeny

Geographic distribution

Habitat

Natural History

Conservation Biology

Links to Other Sites

Acknowledgements

References

© Copyright Roger Barbour. All rights reserved.
Peromyscus leucopus -- White-footed Mouse

Last updated: 26 November, 2005

Species Description

Adult total length: 5 1/2 - 8 in. (140 - 205 mm)
Tail: 2 1/4 - 4 in. (55 - 100 mm)
Hind foot: 3/4 - 7/8 in. (19 - 22 mm)
Weight: 1/2 - 1 oz. (14 - 28 g)
Physical Characteristics: During the summer, the upperparts of the white-footed mouse are grayish-brown to dull orange-brown, with the mid-dorsum being darker. The underparts are white, and the tail is dark brown above and white below, though the line of demarcation is usually not as sharply marked as in P. maniculatus. The eyes and ears are large. In winter, the pelage is grayer. Immature mice are gray above with a white belly and feet.
The white-footed mouse is similar in appearance to the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus). The main distinguishing characteristic is that the tail of the white-footed mouse is shorter (slightly less than half the total length) and is indistinctly bicolored, whereas the tail of the deer mouse is longer (slightly more than half the total length) and sharply bicolored.


left lateral view of skull and mandible	dorsal view of skull	ventral view of skull

Index
Phylogeny

Taxonomic Category	Scientific Name	Common Name
Phylum	Chordata	Chordates
Class	Mammalia	Mammals
Order	Rodentia	Mice, rats, squirrels, etc.
Family	Muridae	Murid rats and mice

Index
Geographic distribution

The white-footed mouse ranges throughout most of the eastern and central United States. Its range extends from southern Canada, Montana, Michigan, and Maine south to central South Carolina, central Georgia, central Alabama, and southwestern Mississippi. The range extends westward to central Arizona and south through eastern Mexico and Yucatan.

Range Maps

North America Great Smokies
Great Smoky Mountains National Park: The white-footed mouse is most abundant at the lower elevations but has been recorded up to 6,500 feet. Considerable overlap occurs with the deer mouse at an elevation of about 3000 feet. (See discussion under Peromyscus maniculatus).
- Blount Co.: Cades Cove (1,750 feet); Whiteoak Sink (1,750 feet).
- Cocke Co.: Near Cosby Ranger Station (1,700 -2,500 feet); Indian Camp Creek; Inadu Knob.
- Sevier Co.: Roaring Fork near Gatlinburg (1,400 feet); Foothills Parkway between Wear Valley and Gatlinburg (1,100 - 2,400 feet); Sugarlands (1,800 feet); Greenbrier ( 2,050 -3,200 feet); Porters Flat (2,250 -2,400 feet); Little River, 2 miles above Elkmont (2,700 feet); Fish Camp Prong (2,730 feet); Ramsay Cascades; former Chimneys Campground; Clingmans Dome (6,000 feet).
- Haywood Co.: Big Creek; Cataloochee; Ledge Bald.
- Swain Co.: Forney Creek; Jonas Creek Trail; Kephart Prong; Black Camp Gap (4,500 feet); Thomas Divide; Moore Springs Shelter; Clingmans Dome (6,500 feet).

Index
Habitat

Preferred habitat of the white-footed mouse consists of brushy areas and mixed or hardwood upland forests. These mice are usually found in and around stone walls, fallen logs, and buildings.

Index
Natural History

Reproduction
Females produce several litters annually from early spring until fall. Following a gestation period of approximately 23 days, females give birth to an average of four or five blind, naked, and helpless young. Young mice leave the nest when between 16 and 25 days of age and are able to breed when approximately two months old.
A nest containing four half-grown young was found in a trail register box at the former Chimneys Campground on October 31. From June to September, numerous pregnant and nursing females and males in breeding condition were recorded by Linzey in the Cosby area ( Linzey, 1995b). Three females, each containing four embryos, were recorded on August 5 and 19, 1984 (Ambrose, 1986). A nursing female and two males in breeding condition were noted by Linzey September 8 and 9 at Cataloochee. A female gave birth to four young in a live-trap August 22 in the spruce-fir zone ( Smith and Mouzon, 1985).
Longevity
Wild deer mice rarely survive longer than one year, although individuals in captivity may live for several years.
Terrestrial Ecology
White-footed mice are most active at night during all seasons. They may occasionally become torpid for several days at a time during periods of low temperature or when food is scarce.
The senses of touch, hearing, sight, and smell are well developed in white-footed mice. They are good climbers. When disturbed, these mice often move their front paws up and down against some resonant object, producing a "drumming" sound.
Major food items, by volume, found in the stomachs of 40 Peromyscus leucopus taken during the summer were insects (42.3%), fruit skins (17.5%), insect larvae (9.0%), and millipedes (5.9%) ( Linzey and Linzey, 1973). Seeds constituted only 2.2% of the total volume, while animal foods amounted to 51.4 %. This is in marked contrast to the summer food habits of Peromyscus maniculatus in which seeds comprised 57.7% and animal foods comprised 22.2% of the total volume. Further research may shed light on the possible ecological significance of this apparent displacement, since the two species overlap considerably in their habitats and altitudinal distributions (Komarek and Komarek, 1938; Linzey and Linzey, 1968).
Home ranges average about 0.1 ha (0.2 acre). Homing behavior is well- developed with individuals displaced as much as one mile returning to their home territory in only a few days.
Predators and Defense
All instances of predation involving Peromyscus sp. are reported in this account of Peromyscus leucopus, since remains of mice of this genus found in the stomachs of predators have not been identified to species. Three timber rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus) taken near Laurel Creek, Trillium Gap, and Gregory Bald had eaten Peromyscus sp. ( Stupka, 1945, 1947, 1954 ). Peromyscus were recorded in the stomachs of 21 of 44 timber rattlesnakes examined by Savage (1967 ). The stomachs of two screech owls (Otus asio) found at the Townsend Y and near park headquarters also contained remains of these mice (Stupka, 1938, 1949). A long-tailed weasel (Mustela frenata) seen on Mt. LeConte near LeConte Lodge was carrying a Peromyscus. A specimen was removed from the stomach of a bobcat (Lynx rufus) killed along the Newfound Gap Road in Tennessee ( Stupka, 1952).
Parasites
Single botfly larvae (Cuterebra sp.) were removed from two specimens by Linzey on July 15 and August 12. A flea was taken from a female in June (Linzey, 1995b).

Index
Conservation Biology

Special Protection Status
- Rangewide: None.
- In Park: All plants and animals are protected within Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Collection requires a permit which is usually granted only for research or educational purposes.

Index
Links to Other Sites

University of Michigan, Museum of Zoology
eNature

Index
Acknowledgements

Text

Dr. Donald W. Linzey, Wytheville Community College - wclinzd@wcc.vccs.edu
Christy Brecht, Wytheville Community College - wcbrecc@wcc.vccs.edu
Photographs
- Roger Barbour
Map development
- Richard Schulz, Great Smoky Mountains National Park - richard_schulz@nps.gov
Web page design & coding
- Denise Lim, University of Georgia, Athens
- John Pickering, University of Georgia, Athens

Index
References

Ambrose, J.P. 1986. Dynamics of ecological boundary phenomena along the borders of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Ph. D. dissertation, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia. (Also National Park Service- Cooperative Studies Unit Technical Report 34. February, 1987).
Komarek, E. V. and R. Komarek. 1938. Mammals of the Great Smoky Mountains. Bulletin of the Chicago Academy of Sciences 5 (6): 137 - 162.
Lackey, J.A. 1999. White-footed mouse. Pages 572 - 574. In: D.E. Wilson, and S. Ruff (eds.). The Smithsonian Book of North American Mammals. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
Lackey, J.A., D.G. Huckaby, and B.G. Ormiston. 1985. Peromyscus leucopus. Mammalian Species No. 247: 1-10. American Society of Mammalogists.
Linzey, D.W. 1968. An ecological study of the golden mouse, Ochrotomys nuttalli, in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. American Midland Naturalist 79(2): 320-345.
Linzey, D. W. 1995a. Mammals of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Blacksburg, Virginia: The McDonald & Woodward Publishing Company, Inc.
Linzey, D. W. 1995b. Mammals of Great Smoky Mountains National Park-1995 Update. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 111(1):1-81.
Linzey, D. W. 1998. The Mammals of Virginia. Blacksburg, Virginia: The McDonald & Woodward Publishing Company, Inc.
Linzey, D.W. and A.V. Linzey. 1968. Mammals of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 84 (3): 384-414.
Linzey, D.W. and A.V. Linzey. 1973. Notes on food of small mammals from Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee-North Carolina. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 89 (1 and 2): 6-14.
Savage, T. 1967. The diet of rattlesnakes and copperheads in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Copeia 1967 (1): 226-227.
Smith, T. R., and J. M. Mouzon. 1985. Small mammal survey in the spruce-fir zone of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Typewritten final research report. In library of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Stupka, A. 1935-63. Nature Journal, Great Smoky Mountains National Park. 28 volumes (years) each with index. (Typewritten copy in files of Great Smoky Mountains National Park library).

Last modified: 8 May, 2002

North America	Great Smokies