House Mouse - Mus musculus
General Description
The house mouse, the most commonly found near humans through history, is an average 6 1/2 inches long and 8/10 of an ounce in Montana (Foresman 2001). The large ears are nearly bare. The short fur will be grayish brown above, with an underside that will be brown, gray, or even whitish, but never pure white, as in other mice of the same size (Ulrich 1986). Unlike most voles and mice, the tail is nearly uniform in color, top and bottom, and is scaly rather than haired.
Distribution
Montana Range
Observations in Montana: 142
Montana CountiesBeaverhead, Big Horn, Carbon, Carter, Cascade, Chouteau, Custer, Dawson, Deer Lodge, Fergus, Gallatin, Garfield, Hill, Jefferson, Judith Basin, Lake, Lewis and Clark, Lincoln, Madison, Missoula, Park, Phillips, Powder River, Ravalli, Richland, Rosebud, Sanders, Sweet Grass, Treasure, Valley, Yellowstone
Habitat
Human habitation, agricultural developments. Grassy meadows, and marsh areas (Lampe et al. 1974) along railroads and fence rows (Dood 1980). May live in feral communities (Banfield 1974).
Ecology
Social. Builds nests of grasses. Though mostly terrestrial, will make burrows. Will use microtine runways. (Banfield 1974).
Citations & Sources
- Burt, W. H. and R. P. Grossenheider. 1964. A field guide to the mammals. 2nd edition. The Peterson Field Guide Series. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MA.
- Foresman, K.R. 2001. The wild mammals of Montana. Special Publication No. 12. American Society of Mammalogists
- Kritzman, Ellen B. 1977. Little mammals of the Pacific Northwest. Pacific Search Press, Seattle, WA.
- Ulrich, Tom J., 1986, Mammals of the northern Rockies
- Zeveloff, S. I. 1988. Mammals of the Intermountain West. Univ. of Utah Press, Salt Lake City, Utah.