The Wood Mouse

Description:

Head and body length of Apodemus sylvaticus is 60-150mm, tail length is 70-145 mm. The fur is soft, and the tail is only moderately hairy. Coloration on the dorsal area is grayish buff, grayish brown, brown with yellow or red mixed in, or pale sand color. The underparts are white or light gray, often with yellow tinges and an oblong yellow spot on the throat. The feet are white. The tail is not prehensile. Females have six or eight nipples. The eyes and ears are large, allowing good vision at night and predator avoidance. The sense of smell is highly developed, and these rodents can detect the exact location of buried seeds without having to dig at random in a general area. Like other members of the subfamily Murinae, these mice have moderately low crowned cheek teeth, with an arrangement of cusps which results in the formation of three longitudinal rows on the biting surface. The incisors are ever-growing self sharpening. There is a layer of enamel on only the front and sides of the teeth, resulting in the back part of the tooth wearing away during normal gnawing behavior so as to form a chisel-like edge. (Fact-File 1991; Macdonald 1985; Nowak 1991; Parker 1990)

Habitat:

Wild POISONOUS Poke Berry plants & woody vines.