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When did the evolutionary history of the genus Mus begin?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Illustration of a house mouse, Mus musculus, showing a small, brownish-gray rodent with large ears, a pointed nose, and a long tail. A scale above indicates its length is about 10 centimeters or 4 inches.
mouse

The evolutionary history of the genus Mus began more than 11 million years ago, with researchers speculating that the genus originated in central Asia.1

The fossil record provides further evidence of the genus's expansion over time:
* Late Miocene Epoch (Asia): The history of Mus extends back 6 million years.1
* Pliocene Epoch (Africa and Europe): The genus appears in the fossil record 3 million to 4 million years ago.1
* Pleistocene Epoch (Mediterranean region): Evidence of the genus dates to between 11,700 and 2.6 million years ago.1

Following its origin in central Asia, the genus evolved into various Asian species before entering Africa approximately 5 million years ago, where it formed the ancestral stock for Nannomys species, and eventually reached Europe and the Mediterranean.1