Peromyscus stirtoni Dickey 1928

Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Rodentia - Family Cricetidae, Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 2, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 955-1189 : 1078

Peromyscus stirtoni Dickey 1928

Peromyscus stirtoni Dickey 1928 , Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., 41: 5.

Type Locality: El Salvador, La Unión Dept., Río Goascorán, 13º30' N, 100 ft (30.5 m).

Vernacular Names: Stirton's Deermouse.

Distribution: Intermittently found in dry to semiarid lowlands of SE Guatemala, SE El Salvador, Honduras, and W Nicaragua.

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: P. mexicanus species group. Although Hooper (1968) questioned the specific recognition of P. stirtoni , others have substantiated its distinctive morphology and habitat ( Huckaby, 1980; Jones and Yates, 1983). Association with the mexicanus complex considered tentative by Carleton (1989), but G-banded karyotype identical to that reported for the core members of the mexicanus group ( Peppers et al., 1999). Late Holocene remains from Guanacaste Prov., Costa Rica, have been interpreted as evidence of recent range contraction ( Woodman, 1988), but new records of the species from nearby SW Nicaragua as much suggest inadequacy of basic field survey in parts of Central America ( Woodman et al., 2002). See Jones (1990, Mammalian Species, 361).