Apodemus ponticus (Sviridenko 1936)
- Dataset
- Muridae
- Rank
- SPECIES
Classification
- kingdom
- Animalia
- phylum
- Chordata
- class
- Mammalia
- order
- Rodentia
- family
- Muridae
- genus
- Apodemus
- species
- Apodemus ponticus
activity
Activity patterns. Terrestrial and nocturnal. Caucasus Field Mice may dig burrows or use natural cavities in ground.
biology_ecology
Habitat. Mixed forests, forest-steppe, grassy fields, and bushy growth.
biology_ecology
Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.
breeding
Breeding. Reproduction occurs during spring and summer, and litter size averages 5 - 0.
conservation
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List.
description
Descriptive notes. Head — body 83 - 103 mm, tail 97 - 104 mm, ear 14 - 21 mm, hindfoot 21 - 24 mm. Nospecific data are available for body weight. The Caucasus Field Mouse looks very similar to Yellow-necked Field Mouse (A. flavicollis). In Iran, it was distinguished by its extensive and well-marked throat spot.
discussion
According to the 1996 work of G. G. Musser and colleagues, A. ponticus belongs to the Sylvaemus group. It had been thought to be anA. flavicollis x A. sylvaticus hybrid or was subsumed into A. flavicollis, but genetic (chromosomes and allozymes) and morphometric analyses by V. N. Orlov and coworkers in 1996 validated its species sta- tus. Its 2013 discovery in north-west Iran (western slope of Zagros Mountains) was reported by Z. Mohammadi and colleagues in 2014, and it is possibly present in Iraq. B. Krystufek and V. Vohralik in 2009 thought that it could be synonym of A. flavicollis, while J. Darvish and colleagues in 2015 included Iranian A. ponticus into one of the A. flavicollis subclades. Pending further morphological and molecular analyses, however, we retain the classic 2005 nomenclature of Musser and M. D. Carleton. Monotypic.
distribution
Distribution. Caucasus (S European Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan) and NW Iran (Zagros Mts).
food_feeding
Food and Feeding. Diet is composed of seeds, grains, nuts, and insects in variable proportions. The Caucasus Field Mouse is known to store food.
materials_examined
Olgino village (Black Sea), N. Caucasus, Russia.
Name
- Synonyms
- Mus flavicollis subsp. ponticus Sviridenko 1936
- Homonyms
- Apodemus ponticus (Sviridenko 1936)
- Common names
- Black Sea Field Mouse in англійська
- Caucasus Field Mouse in англійська
- Kaukasus-Waldmaus in німецька
- Mulot de la Mer noire in французька
- Raton de campo del Calcaso in language.