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Ochrotomys nuttalli

(Harlan, 1832)

Golden Mouse

G5Secure Found in 4 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.101981
Element CodeAMAFF04010
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicendemic to a single nation
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassMammalia
OrderRodentia
FamilyCricetidae
GenusOchrotomys
Other Common Names
golden mouse (EN)
Concept Reference
Wilson, D. E., and D. M. Reeder (editors). 1993. Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. Second edition. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. xviii + 1206 pp. Available online at: http://www.nmnh.si.edu/msw/.
Taxonomic Comments
Originally diagnosed as a subgenus of Peromyscus; full generic status has been supported by several studies (see Musser and Carleton, in Wilson and Reeder 1993, 2005). Packard (1969) presented a subspecific classification, but Whitaker and Hamilton 1998 saw no basis for recognizing any subspecies.
Conservation Status
Review Date1996-11-12
Change Date1996-11-12
Range Extent Comments
Southeastern U.S., from southeastern Missouri to West Virginia and southern Virginia, south to eastern Texas, Gulf coast, and central Florida.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Prefers moist thickets, forests, field borders; generally uses early and mid-successional habitats with thickets and vines, may range short distance into adjacent fields with sparse redcedars, may cross dirt roads (Morzillo et al. 2003). Builds nests and feeding platforms on the ground and above ground in the understory. Young are born in nests that usually are a few inches to 15 feet above ground in bushes and vines. In south-central Florida, nearly all daytime refuges were on the ground under leaf litter; a few were aboveground in shrubs (Frank and Layne 1992).

Ecology

Gregarious; lives in loose communities. Average home range is less than an acre. Population densities range from less than one per acre to 3 per acre (Shadowan 1963).

Reproduction

Breeds April-October. Gestation lasts 25-30 days. Produces several litters of 1-4 (average 2-3) young per year.
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest - HardwoodForest - MixedWoodland - HardwoodWoodland - MixedShrubland/chaparral
Palustrine Habitats
FORESTED WETLAND
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
VirginiaS4Yes
TexasS4Yes
GeorgiaS5Yes
MississippiSNRYes
OklahomaS2Yes
North CarolinaS5Yes
West VirginiaS2Yes
IllinoisS2Yes
KentuckyS4Yes
ArkansasS5Yes
FloridaSNRYes
TennesseeS5Yes
MissouriS3Yes
AlabamaS5Yes
LouisianaSUYes
South CarolinaS5Yes
Roadless Areas (4)
Arkansas (1)
AreaForestAcres
Blue MountainOuachita National Forest9,755
North Carolina (1)
AreaForestAcres
Bald MountainPisgah National Forest11,085
Tennessee (2)
AreaForestAcres
Brushy RidgeCherokee National Forest7,469
Flint Mill GapCherokee National Forest9,494
References (31)
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  2. Banks, E. M., R. J. Brooks, and J. Schnell. 1975. A radiotracking study of home range and activity of the brown lemming (<i>Lemmus trimucronatus</i>). Journal of Mammalogy 56:888-901.
  3. Bowman, J. C., M. Edwards, L. S. Sheppard, and G. J. Forbes. 1999. Record distance for a non-homing movement by a deer mouse, <i>Peromyscus maniculatus</i>. Canadian Field-Naturalist 113:292-293.
  4. Brooks, R. J., and E. M. Banks. 1971. Radio-tracking study of lemming home range. Communications in Behavioral Biology 6:1-5.
  5. Castleberry, S., B., T. L. King, P. B. Wood, and W. M. Ford. 2002. Microsatellite DNA analysis of population structure in Allegheny woodrats (<i>Neotoma magister</i>). Journal of Mammalogy 83:1058-1070.
  6. Davis, W. B. 1978. The mammals of Texas. Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept., Bull. No. 41. 294 pp.
  7. Douglass, R. J. 1977. Population dynamics, home ranges, and habitat associations of the yellow-cheeked vole, <i>Microtus xanthognathus</i>, in the Northwest Territories. Canadian Field-Naturalist 91:237-47.
  8. Frank, P. A., and J. N. Layne. 1992. Nests and daytime refugia of cotton mice (<i>Peromyscus gossypinus</i>) and golden mice (<i>Ochrotomys nuttalli</i>) in south-central Florida. Am. Midl. Nat. 127:21-30.
  9. Garland, T., Jr. and W. G. Bradley. 1984. Effects of a highway on Mojave Desert rodent populations. American Midland Naturalist 111:47-56.
  10. Goodpaster, W. W., and D. F. Hoffmeister. 1954. Life history of the golden mouse, <i>Peromyscus nuttalli</i>, in Kentucky. Journal of Mammalogy 35:16-27.
  11. Hall, E. R. 1981a. The Mammals of North America, second edition. Vols. I &amp; II. John Wiley &amp; Sons, New York, New York. 1181 pp.
  12. Hamilton, W. J., Jr., and J. O. Whitaker, Jr. 1979. Mammals of the eastern United States. Cornell Univ. Press, Ithaca, New York. 346 pp.
  13. Jike, L., G. O. Batzli, L. L. Geta. 1988. Home ranges of prairie voles as determined by radiotracking and by powdertracking. Journal of Mammalogy 69:183-186.
  14. Krohne, D. T., and G. A. Hoch. 1999. Demography of <i>Peromyscus leucopus</i> populations on habitat patches: the role of dispersal. Canadian Journal of Zoology 77:1247-1253.
  15. Linzey, D.W. 2016. Mammals of Great Smoky Mountains National Park: 2016 revision. Southeastern Naturalist 15(Monograph 8):1–93.
  16. Linzey, D.W. and R.L. Packard. 1977. Ochrotomys nuttalii. Am. Soc. Mamm., Mammalian Species No. 75. 6pp.
  17. Lowery, G. H., Jr. 1974. The mammals of Louisiana and its adjacent waters. Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge. 565 pp.
  18. MacMillen, R. E. 1964. Population ecology, water relations and social behavior of a southern California semidesert rodent fauna. University of California Publications in Zoology 71:1-59.
  19. Maier, T. J. 2002. Long-distance movements by female white-footed mice, <i>Peromyscus leucopus</i>, in extensive mixed-wood forest. Canadian Field-Naturalist 116:108-111.
  20. Morzillo, A. T., G. A. Feldhamer, and M. C. Nicholson. 2003. Home range and nest use of the golden mouse (<i>Ochrotomys nuttalli</i>) in southern Illinois. Journal of Mammalogy 84:553-560.
  21. Oxley, D. J., M. B. Fenton and G. R. Carmody. 1974. The effects of roads on populations of small mammals. Journal of Applied Ecology 11: 51-59.
  22. Packard, R. L. 1969. Taxonomic review of the golden mouse, <i>Ochrotomys nuttalli</i>. Univ. Kansas Mus. Nat. Hist. Misc. Publ. 51:373-406.
  23. Rehmeier, R. L., G. A. Kaufman, and D. W. Kaufman. 2004. Long-distance movements of the deer mouse in tallgrass prairie. Journal of Mammalogy 85:562-568.
  24. Schwartz, C. W., and E. R. Schwartz. 1981. The wild mammals of Missouri. University of Missouri Press, Columbia. 356 pp.
  25. Shadowan, H.E. 1963. A live-trap study of small mammals inLouisiana. J. Mamm. 44:103-108.
  26. Smith, M. H. 1965. Dispersal capacity of the dusky-footed wood rat, <i>Neotoma fuscipes</i>. American Midland Naturalist 74:457-463.
  27. Storer, T. I., F. C. Evans, and F. G. Palmer. 1944. Some rodent populations in the Sierra Nevada of California. Ecological Monographs 14:166-192.
  28. Whitaker, J. O., and W. J. Hamilton. 1998. Mammals of the eastern United States. Comstock Publishing, Ithaca, New York.
  29. Wilkins, K. T. 1982. Highways as barriers to rodent dispersal. Southwestern Naturalist 27: 459-460.
  30. Wilson, D. E., and D. M. Reeder (editors). 1993. Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. Second edition. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. xviii + 1206 pp. Available online at: http://www.nmnh.si.edu/msw/.
  31. Wilson, D. E., and D. M. Reeder (editors). 2005. Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. Third edition. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. Two volumes. 2,142 pp. [As modified by ASM the Mammal Diversity Database (MDD) at https://www.mammaldiversity.org/index.html]