Publication Type: | Journal Article |
Year of Publication: | 1961 |
Authors: | Kaye, SV |
Journal: | American Midland Naturalist |
Volume: | 66 |
Date Published: | 1961 |
ISBN Number: | 00030031 |
Keywords: | Micromys minutus |
Abstract: | The gestation period of Reithrodontomys h. humulis appears to be approximately 21 days. The sizes of nine litters born in the laboratory ranged from two to four, with a mean of 3.2. A mean of 1.2 grams was recorded from the weights of 27 young at birth. The reproductive efficiencies of two females were 50.4 and 50.8 per cent, close to the highest known reproductive efficiency of any mammal. Harvest mice at birth appear unpigmented, are pink, have a translucent skin, and have tiny, white natal hairs present on most parts of the body. By the end of the first week, the brownish hair on the head and nape almost completely hides the underlying skin. All young are weaned by the end of the third week and are cared for only by the female parent. Parent mice occasionally killed and ate their young, and on one occasion two 30-day-old females were killed and eaten by their two litter mates. Males get along well with females, although males rarely tolerate each other in the same cage. Females are exceedingly tolerant of members of their own sex. |
URL: | http://www.jstor.org/stable/2423043 |
Laboratory Life History of the Eastern Harvest Mouse
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