Great Basin Naturalist

Volume 53 Number 3 Article 12

9-27-1993

Transport of a juvenile pinyon mouse (Peromyscus truei)

J. R. Callahan University of New Mexico, Albuquerque

Daniel S. Compton Idylwild School, Idylwild, California

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Recommended Citation Callahan, J. R. and Compton, Daniel S. (1993) "Transport of a juvenile pinyon mouse (Peromyscus truei)," Great Basin Naturalist: Vol. 53 : No. 3 , Article 12. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/gbn/vol53/iss3/12

This Note is brought to you for free and open access by the Western North American Naturalist Publications at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Great Basin Naturalist by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Great Basin Naturalist 53(3), pp. 316-317

TRANSPORT OF AJUVENILE PINYON MOUSE (PEROMYSCUS TRUEI)

J. R. Callahan! and Daniel S. Compton'

Key words: Peromyscus, tr"tlr1$pOrt, clinging, juvenile, predator.

On 18 July 1992 we observed an interest­ underside, sending fragments of roUen wood ing mode of transport of a juvenile pinyon and loam flying in all directions. Both mice mouse (PeromysCtIS truei) by an adult female were concealed within minutes. presumed to be its parent. The habitat was "Nipple clinging" behavior has been transitional between Arctostaphylos/Cea1Wth­ reported for several species of Peromyscus, us/QuerCtlS chaparral and mimammal with age and species (King 1963), and that it emerged, moving at high speed. The mammal may be related to emergency evacuation of ran 8 m to a scrub oak (Quercus dumosa) and the nest. Layne (1968) wrote: climbed to a limb 80 em aboveground. While The principal adaptive value of nipple clinging is it was running, we had the impression of a probably reduction of litter losses through predation, grayish rodent 7-8 em in head-body length, although this assumption cannot presently be support~ with large ears and a very bushy tail. Since no ed with good observational or experimental evidence. such mammal occurs in the area, we investi­ gated further. Rand and Holt (1942) wrote that the behavior After approaching to within 30-40 em, we observed an adult female pinyon mouse may be of some importance ... when the nest is threatened by an invading enemy, as for instance, a standing on the limb, with a juvenile (the snake. OUT experience when excavating burrows, large "tail" we had seen) firmly aUached by its however, did not give too much support to this. mouth to the nipple of one of the female's left ingUinal mammae. The juvenile's eyes were Their hypothesis apears to be supported by open and its body mass appeared to he 0.40 our field observation reported here. Nipple­ that of the adult. It had gray juvenile pelage clinging behavior has been reported for cer­ and appeared less than 3 weeks old. \Vhile the tain other rodent genera, such as Neotoma female turned her head back and forth and (Hamilton 1953). Davis (1970) reviewed the shifted position on the branch, the juvenile literature on similar emergency transport of remained motionless beside her. There was no young by flying female bats. evidence of injury to either animal. After a Layne (1968) noted that clinging behavior few minutes, the female ran down the shruh by older juvenile Peromyscus sometimes to the ground, still dragging the juvenile occurs in non-emergency situations, as when bouncing along behind her. She then darted 4 the mother and young are foraging together. m to a different log and began digging at its In this context, the attached juvenile walks

IMI,LY(.'Uni of$outhwcsrom Iliology. Univcnity ofNew Mexico. A11n,qucrqu-e. New Meriro 87131. ~ reprinl rcqUOSIS to mwliDg address: 8m 3140, lIemer. C~.l;("l'nia 9Z546 I!ldyllWikJ School. Idyllwild. CuliroU1i~ 902549.

316 1993] NOTES 317 behind the female rather than heing dragged LITERATURE CITED along. This hehavior may explain the follow­ ing related ohservation. Between 30 June and DAVIS, R. 1970. Carrying ofyoung by flying female North American bats. American Midland Naturalist 83: 10 July 1992 we conducted a mark-and-recap­ 186-196. ture study of small mammals in Riversidean GUETZOW, D. D., AND F. W. JUDD. 1981. Postnatal sage scrub and alluvial scrub habitat just growth and development in a subtropical population south of Highland, San Bernardino County, of Peromyscus leucopus texanus. Southwestern Nat­ California. One 9-inch folding Sherman trap uralist 26: 183-191. HAMILTON, W. J., III, 1953. Reproduction aod young of was found to contain two dead cactus mice the Florida wood rat, Neotoma f floridana (Ord). (Peromyscus eremicus): a 3- to 4-week-old Journal ofMammalogy 34: 180--189. juvenile whose neck had been caught in the KING,]. A. 1963. Maternal behavior in Peromyscus. Pages trap dom; with its head inside the trap and the 58-93 in H. L. Rheingold, ed., Maternal behavior in mammals. John Wiley & Sons Inc., New York. body hanging outside; and a lactating adult LAYNE, J. N. 1968. Ontogeny. Pages 148-253 in J. A. female, with one foot caught under the treadle King, ed., Biology of Pemmyscus (Rodentia). Ameri­ and some caked hlood on its venter. The adult can Society ofMammalogists, Special Publication 2. was a recapture from the previous night; the RAND, A. L., AND P. HOST. 1942. Mammal notes from juvenile was not marked. The most likely sce­ Highland County, Florida. Results of the Archbold Expeditions, No. 45. Bulletin of the American nario is that the juvenile was clinging to the Museum of Natural History 80: 1-21. female's nipple when she entered the trap. SLADE, N. A., M. A. EIFLER, N. M. GRUENHAGEN, AND The door apparently then slammed shut on A. L. DAVELOS. 1993. Differential effectiveness of the juvenile's neck, tearing it off the female. standard and long Sherman livetraps in capturing small mammals. Journal of Mammalogy 74: The use of longer Sherman traps (Slade et a1. 156-161. 1993) is recommended to reduce the inci­ dence of this and other categories of trap Received 9 November 1992 Injury. Accepted 11 March 1993