Mammals of the WorldMayor's Mouse
Mus mayori
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Muridae
- Genus
- Mus
- IUCN status
- VU
- Distribution
- Sri Lanka
- Realm
- Indomalaya
Other names: Highland Rat
About this species
- Habitat
- Tropical and subtropical forest and wet grassland
- Range
- Endemic to Sri Lanka
Mayor's mouse, also called the highland rat or spiny mouse, is endemic to Sri Lanka. It belongs to the subgenus Coelomys of the house-mouse genus and was described by Oldfield Thomas in 1915. It lives in tropical and subtropical forest and wet grassland, digs burrows and is nocturnal (Wikipedia, general species account).
Two subspecies are recognised, Mus mayori mayori and Mus mayori pococki. Deforestation and domestic cats are named as the main threats. Parasites recorded on the pococki subspecies include mites, ticks, lice and fleas, and a pseudoscorpion described from it. Nationally Endangered (Sri Lanka National Red List 2012).
Description: Wildlife of Sri Lanka guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)