North American Jumping Mice (Genus Zapus)Krutzsch, Philip H. (Philip Henry)
Science
North American Jumping Mice (Genus Zapus)
Krutzsch, Philip H. (Philip Henry)
Zapus
_Enemies._--Bailey (_loc. cit._) lists hawks, owls, and weasels as
natural predators on _Z. princeps_. Stanford (1931:362) records the
garter snake (_Thamnophis_) as a predator of jumping mice. A large snake
of this genus obtained by him regurgitated two jumping mice a few hours
after its capture. Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale (1937:232) report that
on Parker Creek, in California, H. C. Bryant frightened a weasel that
dropped a freshly killed jumping mouse. Crowe (1943:407) reported
_Cuterebra_ fly larvae in the inguinal region of a _Z. princeps_
obtained at Invermere, British Columbia. Several mice of this species
taken at Moccasin Lake, 19 mi. W and 4 mi. N of Lander, 10,000 ft.,
Fremont County, Wyoming, were heavily infested with mites of the family
Laelaptidae.
_Food._--In early September in central Utah, Moore (1928:154) found only
a white, starchy, glutinous paste in stomachs of six _Z. princeps_ and
only traces of a brown seed coat in a seventh. The main seeds eaten
seemed to be from an introduced brome-grass which was abundant in the
vicinity of capture. Bailey (1932:226) wrote of _Z. princeps_ in New
Mexico, that "In feeding they cut down the tall grass, beginning at the
bottom and cutting the stem at intervals as high as they can reach until
the seed part of the grass is brought down." He (_op. cit._:227)
remarked that the food was almost entirely seeds of grass and grasslike
plants and that the stomach contents almost always were perfectly clean
white dough from the shelled kernels of small seeds.
_Reproduction._--Females with embryos have been collected from late May
to mid-July and lactating individuals until late August. Possibly there
is only one litter per season as Davis (1939:336) suggests is the case
in Idaho.
Embryos in 25 pregnant females averaged 5 (2-7). The mammae of the
female are arranged in four pairs (two abdominal, one pectoral, and one
inguinal).
_Z. princeps_ builds a grass nest on the ground which is placed under
cover of vegetation or surface litter. Bailey (1932:227) writes that in
New Mexico jumping mice of this species use fibers of grass to construct
a ball-shaped nest. The nest usually has one opening but sometimes there
are two. In the Ruby Mountains, of Nevada, Borell and Ellis (1934:37)
found the globular nests of this mouse on the ground in tall grass.
=Zapus princeps cinereus= Hall
_Zapus princeps cinereus_ Hall, Univ. California Publ. Zool., 37:7,
April 10, 1931.
_Type._--Female, adult, skin and skull; No. 45422, Mus. Vert. Zool.;
Pine Canyon, 6600 feet altitude, Raft River Mountains, 17 mi. northwest
Kelton, Boxelder County, Utah; obtained on July 14, 1930, by Annie M.
Alexander; original No. 689.
_Range._--Raft River Mt's in northwestern Utah and in isolated mountains
in southern Idaho. See fig. 46. Zonal range: Transition and Canadian.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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