Types of mice: photos and names

Mice are small animals belonging to the class of mammals, an order of rodents from the mouse family.

They are found everywhere. The vast majority of their species live in tropical and subtropical forests, with fewer in the temperate and northern latitudes of Europe and Asia, as well as on the Australian mainland. There are approximately 13 species of mice common in the Russian Federation.

In total, the mouse family list includes 147 genera and 700 species. The size of the animal ranges from 5-48 cm, depending on the type of animal.

Below in the article we will try to describe what types of mice there are, how many species of them are found in Russia, what types of mice live where, and also provide their names, descriptions and photos.

Baby mice

They are one of the smallest rodents on earth. The size of an adult does not exceed 7 cm, the tail - 6-7 cm. The baby weighs no more than 10 g.

The appearance of the animal, namely its coloring, distinguishes it from other species. The fur of these mice is bright red in color, except for the abdomen, which is almost white.

Habitat: Spain, Korea, Japan, southern Kazakhstan, China and northern Mongolia. They are found in forests, fields and forest-steppe. In the summer they build nests in the grass, and in the winter they move into burrows, haystacks, and human dwellings.

Baby mice quickly adapt to their new environment. They are quite peaceful and calm. They can live in captivity. At the same time, the animals need a large, capacious cage or a small terrarium so that the little ones can move and climb freely.

In food, it prefers seeds, cereals, legumes, and small insects.

General characteristics of mouse representatives

The mouse family is diverse. Mice are omnivores and herbivores. Some were bred artificially so that they could be kept as pets. Habitat: all continents. The only place on the planet where mice are not found is Antarctica and mountain slopes.

Distinctive features of the appearance of mice are:

It is impossible to confuse mice with other rodents, since their size is too small. The color of the animal is varied, and only albinos have red eyes. The rest of the breeds have small black eyes.

All types of mice are fertile. Throughout the year, a sexually mature female brings up to 8–10 litters. But life expectancy does not exceed 5 years. Each litter contains from 5 to 8 mice. The duration of gestation is 21 days.

Young mice are born blind, without fur. Over the course of 14–21 days, the pups become similar to adults, but smaller in size. Completely independent, they get their own food.

Interesting fact! Reproduction activity occurs in the summer due to a sufficient amount of food. In autumn the animal is less active. In winter, the female is able to give birth only once.

House mouse

The ability to get along with humans has made these animals the most common species of the mouse family and the most numerous of the mammals on earth. Distributed everywhere. The Far North, Antarctica, and highlands are places where these rodents are absent due to low temperatures and high humidity.

These mice are perhaps the smallest representatives of their family, if you do not take into account the tiny mice. The length of their body is no more than 10 cm, the tail is 5-10 cm. The animal has gray fur on its back, sides and a light belly. House mice that live in desert areas are sandy yellow in color, while domesticated house mice are white.

Unlike wild rodents, white decorative mice often become pets. In addition, they are bred in laboratory conditions as food for serpentarium pets, as well as for clinical studies as experimental animals.

In nature, rodents live in burrows. With the onset of autumn, they begin to move into residential buildings and outbuildings.

The main diet is seeds, grain, green parts of plants, and once in a person’s home, they sweep away everything that comes their way - from bread crumbs to soap and candles.

Description and features

Deer belong to the order of artiodactyls, and are considered the smallest creatures from this order. These amazing deer are only from 20 to 40 cm in height, reach from 40 to 80 cm in length, and weigh from 1.5 kg. The thickest members of the family reach 12 kg.

They have a small head with erect ears, beautifully set on the neck, moist large eyes, a small deer tail, thin slender legs, and at the same time a fairly thick body with an arched back, an elongated sharp muzzle, soft shiny fur of various colors and a complete absence of horns .

But males have fangs that barely fit in the mouth. They usually protrude 3 cm from the gums. Their fur is camouflage in color - brown, brown, dark gray, with white spots on the belly and chest. In addition, the fawn color characteristic of deer is always present on the sides.

The deer mouse grows up to 25 cm at the withers

They step on two central toes with hooves, but they also have two lateral toes, which other ruminants no longer have. In this way they are similar to pigs. And they are related to deer by a similar structure of the dental apparatus and digestive system. Although their stomach is more primitive, it consists of three sections, and not 4, as in many artiodactyls.

The deer mouse in the photo is a fantastic cross between a roe deer and a large mouse. Her figure and muzzle are very unusual against the backdrop of long legs and sad deer eyes.

Harvest mouse

Habitat: Central and Eastern Europe, the southern part of Western Siberia, China (except for the south), Mongolia, the Korean Peninsula, Taiwan. This type of rodent rarely lives in houses and outbuildings, unlike house mice.

The field mouse prefers open areas - bushes and fields. In megacities it mainly lives in green zones. Lives both in burrows and other natural shelters. Rodents that live in swampy areas build nests in bushes or grass.

The body length of the animal can reach up to 12.5 cm, the tail – up to 9 cm. The color of the field mouse is grayish-brown, with a dark stripe running along the back.

The animal’s diet, which changes depending on temporary conditions, is based on plant foods and insects. Field mice are the largest pests for agriculture and forestry, and they can also live in country houses.

Kinds

We can safely say about deer that they have not been studied well enough. And all because of their extreme shyness, timidity and reluctance to be seen. Their Latin name Tragulus (tragulus) could come from the ancient Greek word τράγος (goat) with the addition ulus, which means “tiny”.

Perhaps they were called that not only because of their hooves, but also because of the horizontal position of their pupils, which helps them see better, including in the dark. There are three genera in the deer family: Asiatic deer, water deer and sika deer.

Asian deer (kanchili, or, as they used to say, kantshilas) include 6 types:

Malay kancil. Distributed in Indochina, Burma, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. It is a nominative species (representing a typical specimen of the entire group).
Small deer, or Javan small kanchil. Its habitat is in Southeast Asia, from the Chinese southern regions to the Malay Peninsula, as well as on the islands of Sumatra, Borneo and Java with the surrounding islets. The smallest of the artiodactyls living on Earth. Length no more than 45 cm, height up to 25 cm, weight from 1.5 to 2.5 kg. The tail is about 5 cm long. The fur is brown in color, the belly, throat and lower jaw are white.
Big deer, or napu deer, or big mouse deer. The most famous of all deer. It weighs about 8 kg, sometimes reaching more weight. Its body length is 75-80 cm, height - 35-40 cm. It lives in Thailand, Indochina, the Malay Peninsula and the islands of Sumatra and Borneo.
The Philippine deer mouse lives, as you know, in the Philippine Islands. Her fur is darker than other deer, almost black. In the sun it shimmers reddish-brown. Although during the day the animal is almost impossible to see. All observations were made at night using photographs.

There are no fundamental differences between the types of kanchilas

Vietnamese canchil, or Vietnamese mouse-deer . The animal is the size of a rabbit, with a brownish-gray coloration with a silvery coating. Therefore, it is also called silver chevrotain. Lives in the dense forests of Truong Son. It is considered endemic to Vietnam (a species unique to this place). Listed as one of the 25 Most Wanted Lost Species.

It was he who was lucky enough to be rediscovered in November 2022 by Vietnamese natural scientists, and this happened after 29 years of absence of any signs of its existence. It was possible to photograph it only with the help of highly sensitive camera traps. The joy of scientists knew no bounds, because it was believed that this species was already extinct.

Williamson's mouse deer is found in Thailand and partly in China. It differs little from its relatives, except perhaps in its slightly yellower color and size.

Water kanchile (African). The only species of its kind. The sizes can be called large, they are close to the parameters of a large canchila. The color is light brown. It lives in central Africa, near fresh water bodies. It spends so much time in water that it can rightfully be considered an amphibian. In the water it feeds and escapes from predators. At the same time, it swims well.

Spotted kanchile (spotted chevrotain or chevron) - lives in India and Ceylon. It is distinguished by the color most common for deer - red-brown fur with numerous light spots. This species is close to the African deer.

Previously considered monotypic, there are now three varieties: the Indian, found in the very south of Asia, as far as Nepal, the yellow-striped kanchil, found in the humid forests of Sri Lanka, and the Sri Lankan kanchil, found in 2005 in the drier parts of Sri Lanka. Lanka.

Dorcas (Dorcatherium) is an extinct species of these mammals. Fossils have been found in Europe and East Africa, as well as in the Himalaya region. Its name can be translated from ancient Greek as roe deer. Perhaps because of its coloring, which, according to historical data, was very reminiscent of the fur coat of the mentioned animal. Pale brown coat with numerous white spots of various sizes and configurations.

Wood mouse

The animal prefers natural shelters, its own or others' burrows in floodplains, in thickets of meadow bushes, and in open areas of forest. Their habitats are broad-leaved and mixed forests of Eastern Europe, Turkey, the Caucasus, Kazakhstan, Altai.

It reaches 10 cm in size. The length of the tail is approximately the same as the length of the body. Color – grayish-red. Some individuals have a yellow spot in the chest area.

Rodents, as a rule, feed on plant foods (grain, seeds), and do not refuse insects. They eat young tree seedlings, causing severe damage to forestry.

Lifestyle and habitat

Deer appeared on the planet approximately 50 million years ago, at the dawn of the formation of groups of ancient ungulates. Since then, they have hardly changed, and most of all of their family are similar to their distant ancestors, both in appearance and in their way of life.

To summarize after describing the species, we can say that these amazing animals live only in southeast Asia, on the island of Sri Lanka and in the west-central part of the African continent. They live deep in dense forests. They like mangroves, old forests with dry trees, and islands of rocks.

The deer mouse swims well and can climb trees

They prefer to live alone. This reclusive lifestyle probably explains the rarity of their appearance in front of people. They are timid and cunning. Knowing that they cannot withstand a long chase from predators, they prefer to quickly hide. And they achieved perfection in this. Deer blend so well with the surrounding nature that it is difficult to notice them, much less lure them out.

, it is very difficult to find out how the deer mouse lives, where it lives, It is not for nothing that local residents say about the most cunning liar: “He is as crafty as he is a liar.” You can see him only for a moment, and he immediately hides. Once captured, he bites.

During the day, they find shelter in narrow rock crevices or inside hollow logs to sleep and gain strength. Under the cover of darkness, they go looking for food, leaving behind trails in the grass that resemble narrow tunnels. Their small size helps them move well through dense thickets and not get bogged down in swampy soil and soft forest floor.

Kanchili are jealously attached to their territory. Moreover, males have a larger homestead - about 12 hectares, and females - up to 8.5 hectares. Males mark their areas with copious secretions. It happens that they have to defend their territory. That's when sharp and long fangs come in handy.

Vole mouse

Distinctive features of this type of rodent are their short tail, small ears and small muzzle. The length of the mouse's body, not including the tail, is 12 cm. The color is gray or dark brown, the abdomen is gray.

Habitat: North Africa, Middle East, northern India, southwestern China, Taiwan, Japanese Islands, North America.

Like a mole, the vole digs deep, multi-pass burrows. The animals are active at night and are underground during the day. They feed on plant foods - green parts of plants, roots, tubers.

You can try to fight small rodents using ultrasound.

Nutrition

When going out to hunt at night, the mouse-deer animal relies most on its huge eyes and sensitive ears. Their diet is also different from other artiodactyls. In addition to the generally accepted plant food - leaves, fruits, buds, they happily feed on bugs, worms, other insects, as well as frogs and carrion.

In addition, they eat mushrooms, plant seeds and young shoots. We can say that they eat everything that gets in their way. They readily catch fish and river crabs in small streams and rivers. Moreover, they can easily cope even with rodents thanks to their fangs. The carnivory of the animal makes it unique among artiodactyls.

Signs of rodents. What you need to know about them

Rodents are hares, rats, mice, etc. There are more than 1,700 species of them. All wild species also belong to the category of rodent pests, but not all of them can be found on the site. The ones you find at the dacha will be medium in size (8-35 cm). All rodents are capable of causing serious damage to the crops on your site. If they start in the garden, it is easy to determine by the following signs:

damaged (gnawed) bark on the trunk and shoots, branches, buds, roots;
a network of holes in the ground, eating underground elements of bulbous plants;
destruction of the crop during ripening and its reserves during storage.

Character

House mice are quite shy. At any unexpected noise, the rodent gets scared and runs away. The vision of representatives of the mouse family is quite poor; they see practically nothing at close range. They navigate in space using:

smells;
sound;
whiskers (vibrissae).

At night, the rodent sees practically nothing, so it moves “by touch” with the help of its whiskers. Rodents are very social; they cannot be outside of society for a long time.

The animal also boasts a high speed of movement, which reaches 13 km/h. Rodents, as a rule, move along a predetermined route, which they create using their own excrement. “Mouse tracks” appear in a house or warehouse a very short time after the animal moves into the building.

These animals are carriers of a large number of infectious diseases that are equally dangerous to humans and their pets. Rodents also cause significant damage to interior items that serve them to wear down their teeth, and to the products that they eat and contaminate with waste from their vital activity. It is assumed that the main reason for taming cats in the distant past was precisely the fight against these pests in the house.

Effective methods of control

The common shrew is an integral part of the evolution of the animal world. Birds of prey, such as owls, feed on them. Weasels and ferrets catch these animals. Sometimes they become victims of foxes and pets. Dogs, cats and wild animals often mistake them for mice, but do not eat them because shrews have a specific smell.

A shrew is a very undesirable guest in a private household. How can you combat it effectively? How to get rid of shrews if they cause significant damage to your homestead?

The common shrew is very afraid of noise. It does not survive in noisy conditions. The fight against this animal involves creating rattle devices from plastic bottles or tin cans, the so-called windbreakers. The noise and vibrations they create repel shrews.
Ultrasonic industrial repellers are effective in the fight against small mammals.
If you have been looking for a way to catch a shrew for a long time, you can use pesticides that are suitable for killing rodents. But it should be taken into account that you will need a lot of poison, because you need to put it in every hole of the big “house” of the animal.
Many gardeners use the simplest method - filling holes with water. But shrews, which are accustomed to a humid environment, can only leave the area they like for a while.
Shrews have a very developed sense of smell; they cannot tolerate strong aromas - missing herring, kerosene, mothballs. By scattering such a drug around the perimeter of the site, you can expect a lasting effect.
Many fragrant flowers and herbs repel shrews - wormwood, imperial hazel grouse, marigolds, mint, peas and lentils. By planting them in the island areas of your garden or garden, you can forget about the nimble animals for a long time.
Even against these animals, dry inflorescences of marigolds, which are mixed with foliage in the garden, or filled with burrow entrances, are effective.
Installing a trap trap allows you to catch shrews. This is the best remedy for harmful moles and small shrews. Traps can be made either independently or purchased at a hardware store.
How to deal with gluttons manually? Deep digging of a vegetable garden or garden plot allows you to destroy dug underground passages and nests of animals. This method of forced eviction of “neighbors” often works effectively.

A caught animal is not harmless. It can bite painfully, so don't pick it up. It's better to view it remotely.

Now you know how to deal with annoying shrews using special and improvised devices. Having gotten rid of uninvited guests, do not rush to plant the area with new ones. To ensure that your efforts are not in vain, make sure that the problem is finally resolved.

What do mice like to eat?

In cold weather, it is difficult to detect at least one mouse, since they are under a layer of snow, which creates protection for them from frost. Usually their reserves are not enough for wintering and mice have to look for food even under the snow.

Trying to answer the question of what mice eat, it is necessary to immediately identify their favorite food in the form of seeds and various plant fruits.

However, mice that prefer to live near various sources of water mostly feed on lush greens, various root vegetables and even insects. And wood mice use nuts and discovered seeds from deciduous tree species for food.

Although for the most part they can use everything for food, and even products from the set of ordinary human food. They often settle in barns, various storerooms and use grains, cheeses or other products as food. Sometimes they even take a small bite of sausages and dried fish.

Natural enemies

This animal has many enemies - tigers, leopards, birds of prey, but wild dogs pose a particular danger to them. With their excellent sense of smell, they can easily track where a mouse deer has passed. But the deer cannot run on its thin legs for long.

Therefore, at the slightest hint of the approach of an enemy, the animals instantly hide in the grass or in the water. And for a long time they do not appear from the shelter outside. When morning comes, the deer returns to its shelter to hide and rest.

Deer mouse, an endangered animal

Interesting Facts

In search of food, deer mice can climb a tree; strangely, their hooves do not interfere with them.
From danger, many kanchili hide in the water. They are excellent swimmers and can walk along the bottom, only occasionally sticking out their black nose to breathe.
The mouse deer in South Asia is often portrayed as an intelligent guardian of the environment. He uses his cunning and mystery against those who destroy the surrounding nature, destroy seas and forests. Because of this, in some areas, such as the Philippines, the mouse deer is considered a sacred animal.
In an Indonesian tale, the mouse deer Sang Kancil wanted to cross the river, but a large crocodile prevented him. Then Kanchil deceived the predator, telling him that the king wanted to count all the crocodiles. They lined up across the river, and the brave animal crossed to the other side over their heads and ended up in an orchard.
Filipinos also have a belief that the deer mouse is very friendly with the python. If the animal is hunted by a predator or a person with a dog, a large boa constrictor will crawl and strangle the enemies of its little friend. Perhaps the secrecy and little knowledge of the miniature animal provide the basis for such legends.