DISTINCT WHITE FACIAL-FUR PATTERNS OF DEER MOUSE (PEROMYSCUS MANICULATUS) POPULATIONS IN NORTHERN NEVADA

Abstract

Abstract We report photo documentation of a newly discovered fur variation on the face of American Deer Mice, Peromyscus maniculatus, in populations across northern Nevada. American Deer Mice usually have all-brown facial fur with dark-colored ears, whereas these novel records show white fur patches at the base of the ears, sometimes with bicolored ears and white fur extending behind, and more rarely with a white strip of fur down the middle of the face. Across all field sites, we captured 1685 Deer Mice; of these, 216 had some variation of the white facial fur patterns. These facial patterns are most prominent in northeastern Nevada, comprising 13 to 16% of all Deer Mice captured.