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- Muridae
- American harvest mouse
harvest mouse
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What is a harvest mouse?
Harvest mice are small rodents belonging to the mouse family Muridae. There are two main groups: the Old World harvest mouse (Micromys minutus) and the American harvest mice (genus Reithrodontomys). The Old World harvest mouse, found across Eurasia, is one of the smallest rodents, weighing less than 7 grams. American harvest mice comprise about 20 species inhabiting diverse habitats from Canada to South America.
Harvest mice are nocturnal, active year-round, and adept climbers. They construct globular nests in tall vegetation or burrows. Their diet consists of seeds, vegetation, insects, and eggs. Some species, like the salt-marsh harvest mouse, are endangered due to habitat loss.
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Where do harvest mice live?
Harvest mice habitats vary depending on the species. The 20 species of American harvest mice live from southern Canada to northern South America at elevations ranging from below sea level to above the timberline in the northern Andes Mountains. They can be found in prairies, grassy fields with shrubs or trees, meadows, temperate and tropical forests, and cultivated fields. The salt-marsh harvest mouse (R. raviventris) exclusively inhabits the tidal salt marshes around San Francisco Bay in California.
The Old World harvest mouse (Micromys minutus) lives from Great Britain and Europe westward to Siberia and Korea, southern China, Assam, and Japan. This agile climber favors tall vegetation such as hedgerows, grasses, reeds, bamboo, and cultivated grain or rice fields.
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What does a harvest mouse look like?
Harvest mice are small rodents. Old World harvest mice (Micromys minutus) weigh less than 7 grams and have a body length of less than 8 cm. Their tails, about the same length as their bodies, have sparse hair. Their soft fur is brownish-yellow to reddish-brown on top and white to buff underneath.
American harvest mice, of the Reithrodontomys genus, weigh between 6 and 20 grams, with body lengths ranging from 5 to 15 cm. Their slender tails may be shorter or longer than their bodies. Their soft fur ranges from pale buff-gray to shades of brown or blackish, with white or gray underparts, sometimes with a buff tint.
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What do harvest mice eat?
Harvest mice include both New World (Reithrodontomys) and Old World (Micromys minutus) species. The American harvest mouse eats seeds, flowers, cactus fruit, succulent green sprouts, and invertebrates. The Old World harvest mouse consumes seeds and other vegetation, as well as insects and the eggs of small birds. Habitats of harvest mice range from prairies and cultivated fields to forests and salt marshes. The Old World harvest mouse favors tall vegetation like hedgerows, reeds, bamboo, and grain or rice fields.
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How do harvest mice build their nests?
Harvest mice construct nests in diverse environments, varying by species. The Old World harvest mouse (Micromys minutus) builds spherical nests from grass, which it suspends between vertical stems, typically up to 13 cm above ground during breeding. Outside the breeding season, they nest in ground holes, under haystacks, or inside buildings.
American harvest mice also build globular nests from vegetation either on the ground or elevated in grass, shrubs, or trees. Other mouse species excavate burrows, creating chambers where they build globular nests from dry vegetation.
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Why are harvest mice important to their ecosystem?
Harvest mice, both Old World and American, play important roles in their respective ecosystems. They consume seeds, invertebrates, and vegetation, which can help with seed dispersal and control insect populations. Additionally, they serve as a food source for larger animals like reptiles, birds, and mammals, contributing to the food web's balance. Harvest mice also build nests that sometimes other animals can use for shelter.
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harvest mouse, either of two genera of small mice: the American harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys) or the Old World harvest mouse (Micromys).
American harvest mice
The 20 species of American harvest mice are widespread, being found from southern Canada to northern South America at elevations ranging from below sea level to above the timberline in the northern Andes Mountains. They live in prairies, grassy fields with shrubs or trees, meadows, temperate and tropical forests, and cultivated fields. One, the salt-marsh harvest mouse (R. raviventris), lives only in the tidal salt marshes surrounding San Francisco Bay in California and is listed as an endangered species under federal and state laws. American harvest mice are nocturnal and are active all year. Although terrestrial, they are excellent climbers and build globular nests of vegetation either on the ground or above it in grass, sedge, shrubs, or trees. Their diet includes seeds, flowers, cactus fruit, succulent green sprouts, and invertebrates. Weight varies among species from 6 to 20 grams (0.2 to 0.7 ounce) and body length from 5 to 15 cm (1.9 to 5.9 inches); the slender, scantily haired tail may be either shorter or longer than the body. Fur is soft and ranges in colour from pale buff gray to shades of brown or blackish, with underparts of white or gray, sometimes tinted with buff.
New World harvest mice belong to the subfamily Sigmodontinae of the mouse family Muridae within the order Rodentia. Their ancestry is seen in the North American geologic record back to the early Pliocene Epoch (5.3 million to 3.6 million years ago). Their closest living relatives are deer mice.
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Old World harvest mouse
The single species of Old World harvest mouse (Micromys minutus) lives from Great Britain and Europe westward to Siberia and Korea, southern China, Assam, and Japan. As suggested by its scientific name, it is among the smallest of rodents, weighing less than 7 grams and having a body length of less than 8 cm. The semiprehensile tail is about the same length as the body and is scantily haired. The soft fur is brownish yellow to reddish brown above, white to buff on the underparts.
The Old World harvest mouse is an agile climber that prefers tall vegetation such as hedgerows, grasses, reeds, bamboo, and cultivated grain or rice fields. It is active all year and is primarily but not entirely nocturnal. During breeding season this mouse constructs globular nests of grass suspended between vertical stems up to 13 cm above ground; during the rest of the year, nests are located in holes in the ground, beneath haystacks, or in buildings. The Old World harvest mouse eats seeds and other vegetation in addition to insects and the eggs of small birds. Modern farm machinery may be destroying the animal’s food and nesting resources in Great Britain and Europe, where populations are apparently declining.
The Old World harvest mouse belongs to the subfamily Murinae of the mouse family Muridae. While some investigators recognize only one species of Micromys, others speculate that additional species exist. Fossils of six extinct Eurasian species date back as far as the late Pliocene Epoch (3.6 to 2.6 million years ago). Wood mice are the closest living relatives of the Old World harvest mouse.