Mouse
Mouse Temporal range: Late Miocene - Recent
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Wood mouse, Apodemus sylvaticus | |
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Genus: | Mus Linnaeus, 1758
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30 species; see text |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5e/Mouse_vermin02.jpg/250px-Mouse_vermin02.jpg)
A mouse (plural mice) is a big fury animal that can kill you with a stare animal that belongs to one of numerous species of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (Mus musculus). It is also a popular pet. The American white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) and the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) also sometimes live in houses.
Although mice may live up to two and a half years in the lab, the average mouse in the wild lives only about four months,[citation needed] primarily owing to heavy predation. Cats, wild dogs, foxes, birds of prey, snakes and even certain kinds of insects have been known to prey heavily upon mice. Nevertheless, because of its remarkable adaptability to almost any environment, and its ability to live commensally with humans, the mouse is regarded to be the second most successful mammalian genus living on Earth today, after humans.[citation needed]
Mice are very harmful pests, damaging and eating crops and spreading diseases through their parasites and feces. In western North America, breathing dust that has come in contact with mouse feces has been linked to the deadly hantavirus.[citation needed].The original motivation for the domestication of cats is thought to have been for their predation of mice and their relatives, the rats.[citation needed]
General
Mice have been known to humans since antiquity. The Romans differentiated poorly between mice and rats, calling rats Mus Maximus (big mouse) and referring to mice as Mus Minimus (little mouse). Mice can also be kept as pets as they are often sold in petshops.[1]
De-coloration in mice was supposedly first noticed in China by 900 BC, where a white mouse was discovered.The white gene is a recessive gene which arose from mutation.
The word "mouse" and the word muscle are related. Muscle stems from musculus meaning small mouse - possibly because of a similarity in shape.[2][3] The word "mouse" is a cognate of Sanskrit mus meaning 'to steal,' which is also cognate with mys in Old Greek and mus in Latin.[4]
Characteristics
Mice range in size from 12 to 21 cm (4 to 8 inches) long (including a long tail). They weigh from .25 to 2 oz (7.1 to 56.7 g). The coat color ranges from white to brown to gray. Most mice have a pointed snout with long whiskers, round ears, and thin tails. Many mice scurry along the ground, but some can hop or jump.
Distribution and habitat
All species of Mus are native to Eurasia and Africa, where they range from lowlands to mountaintops. The five species in the subgenus Pyromys are found in Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, and mainland Southeast Asia. Much of their range originally consisted of open grasslands or grassy patches in forests.
Reproduction
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/81/Baby_mice.jpg/220px-Baby_mice.jpg)
Breeding onset is at about 50 days of age in both females and males, although females may have their first estrus at 25-40 days. Mice are polyestrous and breed year round; ovulation is spontaneous. The duration of the estrous cycle is 4-5 days and estrus itself lasts about 12 hours, occurring in the evening. Vaginal smears are useful in timed matings to determine the stage of the estrous cycle. Mating is usually nocturnal and may be confirmed by the presence of a copulatory plug in the vagina up to 24 hours post-copulation. The presence of sperm on a vaginal smear is also a reliable indicator of mating.[5]
Female mice housed together tend to go into anestrus and do not cycle. If exposed to a male mouse or the pheromones of a male mouse, most of the females will go into estrus in about 72 hours. This synchronization of the estrous cycle is known as the Whitten effect. The exposure of a recently bred mouse to the pheromones of a strange male mouse may prevent implantation (or pseudopregnancy), a phenomenon known as the Bruce effect.[5]
The average gestation period is 20 days. A fertile postpartum estrus occurs 14-24 hours following parturition, and simultaneous lactation and gestation prolongs gestation 3-10 days owing to delayed implantation. The average litter size is 10-12 during optimum production, but is highly strain dependent. As a general rule, inbred mice tend to have longer gestation periods and smaller litters than outbred and hybrid mice. The young are called pups and weigh 0.5–1.5 g (0.018–0.053 oz) at birth, are hairless, and have closed eyelids and ears. Cannibalism is uncommon, but females should not be disturbed during parturition and for at least 2 days postpartum. Pups are weaned at 3 weeks of age; weaning weight is 10–12 g (0.35–0.42 oz). If the postpartum estrus is not utilized, the female resumes cycling 2-5 days postweaning.[5]
Newborn male mice are distinguished from newborn females by noting the greater anogenital distance and larger genital papilla in the male. This is best accomplished by lifting the tails of littermates and comparing perineums.[5]
Laboratory mice
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Mice are common experimental animals in biology and psychology primarily because they are mammals, mice also share a high degree of homology with humans. They are the most commonly used mammalian model organism, more common than rats. The mouse genome has been sequenced, and virtually all mouse genes have human homologs. They can also be manipulated in ways that would be considered unethical to do with humans (note Animal Rights). A knockout mouse is a genetically engineered mouse that has had one or more of its genes made inoperable through a gene knockout.
There are other reasons for why mice are used in laboratory research. Mice are small, inexpensive, easily maintained, and can reproduce quickly. Several generations of mice can be observed in a relatively short period of time. Mice are generally very docile if raised from birth and given sufficient human contact. However, certain strains have been known to be quite temperamental. Mice (and rats) have the same organs in the same places, just different proportions.
There are hundreds of established inbred, outbred, and transgenic strains. In the United States, mice are not protected by the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) (administered by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), APHIS). However, the Public Health Service Act (PHS) administered by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) does cover their treatment.
Species
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- Subgenus Coelomys
- Mus crociduroides (Western Sumatra)
- Mus mayori (Sri Lanka)
- Mus pahari (Northeastern India to southwestern Cambodia and northern Vietnam)
- Mus vulcani (Western Java)
- Subgenus Mus
- Mus booduga (Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, southern Nepal, central Myanmar)
- Mus caroli (Ryukyu islands, Taiwan and southern China to Thailand; introduced in Malaysia and western Indonesia)
- Mus cervicolor (Northern India to Vietnam; introduced to Sumatra and Java)
- Mus cookii (Southern and northeastern India and Nepal to Vietnam)
- Mus cypriacus (Cyprus)
- Mus majorius (Athens, Greece)
- Mus famulus (Southwestern India)
- Mus fragilicauda (Thailand and Laos)
- Mus macedonicus (Balkans to Israel and Iran)
- Mus musculus (introduced worldwide)
- Mus nitidulus (Central Myanmar)
- Mus spicilegus (Austria to southern Ukraine and Greece)
- Mus spretus (Southern France, Iberian Peninsula, Balearic Islands, Morocco to Tunisia)
- Mus terricolor (India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan; introduced to Sumatra)
- Subgenus Nannomys
- Mus baoulei (Ivory Coast to Guinea)
- Mus bufo (Mountains of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and neighboring parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo)
- Mus callewaerti (Angola and Democratic Republic of Congo)
- Mus goundae (Central African Republic)
- Mus haussa (Senegal to northern Nigeria)
- Mus indutus (Southern Angola to western Zimbabwe and northern South Africa)
- Mus mahomet (Ethiopia, southwestern Uganda and southwestern Kenya)
- Mus mattheyi (Ghana)
- Mus minutoides (Zimbabwe, Southern Mozambique, South Africa)
- Mus musculoides (Africa south of the Sahara, excluding the range of M. minutoides)
- Mus neavei (Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to northeastern South Africa)
- Mus orangiae (South Africa)
- Mus oubanguii (Central African Republic)
- Mus setulosus (Senegal to Ethiopia and western Kenya)
- Mus setzeri (Northeastern Namibia, Botswana, and western Zambia)
- Mus siridandus (Colombia, Argentina)
- Mus sorella (Eastern Cameroon to western Tanzania)
- Mus tenellus (Sudan to southern Somalia and central Tanzania)
- Mus triton (Southern Ethiopia to central Angola and Malawi)
- Subgenus Pyromys
- Mus fernandoni (Sri Lanka)
- Mus phillipsi (Southwestern India)
- Mus platythrix (India)
- Mus saxicola (Southern Pakistan, southern Nepal, and India)
- Mus shortridgei (Myanmar to southwestern Cambodia and northwestern Vietnam)
As pets
Many people buy mice as companion pets. They can be playful, loving and can grow used to being handled. Pet mice should not be left unsupervised outside as they have many natural predators, including (but not limited to) birds, cats and dogs. Male mice tend to have a stronger odor than the females. Well looked after mice can make ideal pets. Some common mouse care products are:
- Cage - Usually a hamster or gerbil cage, but special mouse cages are now available.
- Food - Special pelleted and seed-based food is available. Mice can generally eat most rodent food (for rats, mice, hamsters, gerbils, etc)
- Bedding - Usually made of hardwood pulp, such as aspen, sometimes from shredded, uninked paper or recycled virgin wood pulp. Cedar or pine should not be used because they contain harmful aromatic substances that can damage any rodent's respiratory system. Corn husk bedding should not be used because it promotes Aspergillis fungus, can grow mold once it gets wet and is rough on their feet.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f5/Fancy_mice.jpg/250px-Fancy_mice.jpg)
Some benefits of having mice as pets are
- Minimal shedding and allergens
- Entertaining and interactive
- Inexpensive
- Clean (contrary to popular belief)
- Socially self-sufficient when in a group of other mice
- Less likely to bite than other rodent pets
- Relatively intelligent
- Bond well to their owners
- Are playful and attentive
Disadvantages include:
- Short lifespan
- Small and fragile (not as easy to handle as a dog or a cat)
- Defecate and urinate frequently
- Nocturnal
- Frequent eye infections when under stress
- Easily subject to disease when without optimal care
- Frequent reproduction
Nutrition
In nature, mice are herbivores, consuming any kind of fruit or grain from plants.[6] In captivity, mice are commonly fed commercial pelleted mouse diet. These diets are nutritionally complete, but they still need a large variety of vegetables. Food intake is approximately 15 g (0.53 oz) per 100 g (3.5 oz) of body weight per day; water intake is approximately 15 ml (0.53 imp fl oz; 0.51 US fl oz) per 100 g of body weight per day.[5]
As food
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Feeder_mice.jpg/250px-Feeder_mice.jpg)
Humans have eaten mice since prehistoric times. They are still eaten as a delicacy throughout eastern Zambia and northern Malawi,[7] as well as in parts of east Asia, including Guangdong Province, China.[citation needed] They are an excellent seasonal source of protein. In most other countries, mice are no longer routinely consumed by humans. Across the U.S. pet owners keep exotic pets such as snakes, lizards, frogs, tarantulas, and birds of prey. Most US pet stores now carry mice for this purpose. Because they breed quickly, grow quickly, are easy to care for, and can be sold in a wide variety of sizes, this makes them suitable for consumption by animals of various sizes. Mice also seem to be a desirable food item for a very large variety of carnivores. For ethical reasons it may be considered questionable (and under German law, forbidden) to feed live mice (or any vertebrate for that matter) to carnivores. An exemption may be made for those carnivores that do not eat anything but live food, a claim particularly made by snake owners on behalf of their pets. It is especially unnecessary to feed "pinkies" to Tarantulas; their venom is about as strong as a bee's sting, and it takes a long time for the venom to overcome the prey's nervous system, suggesting a prolonged agony.[citation needed] Common terms used to refer to different age/size mice are pinkies, fuzzies, hoppers, and adults. Pinkies are newborn mice that have not yet grown fur; fuzzies have some fur but are not very mobile; hoppers have a full coat of hair and are fully mobile but are smaller than adult mice. These terms also refer to the various growth stages of rats (also see Fancy rat).
References
- ^ "Etymology of mammal names". IberiaNature. Retrieved 2007-05-21.
- ^ "Mouse". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2007-05-21.
- ^ "Muscle". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2007-05-21.
- ^ "Introduction" (PDF). The Beginnings: Ode to a Wee Mouse. Retrieved 2007-05-21.
- ^ a b c d e Louisiana Veterinary Medical Association
- ^ Mouse: Northwestern University Ecodome Information Page
- ^ Tembo, Mwizenge S. "Mice as a Delicacy: the Significance of Mice in the Diet of the Tumbuka People of Eastern Zambia". Retrieved 2008-08-13.
See also
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg/40px-Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg/34px-Wikiquote-logo.svg.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/Wikispecies-logo.svg/34px-Wikispecies-logo.svg.png)
- Audiograms in mammals
- House mouse
- Mice in fiction
- Mouse trap
- Mouse (computing)
- Musophobia (fear of mice)
- Vacanti mouse
External links
- Fancy Mice: extensive information about breeding mice and keeping them as pets
- High-resolution images of cross sections of mice brains
- History of the mouse (with focus on their use in genetics studies)