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Conservation Status:
The Chadwick Beach cotton mouse, subspecies P. gossypinus restrictus, is Extinct; the Key Largo cotton mouse, P. gossypinus allapaticola, is Vulnerable.
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A medium-sized rodent with large ears and eyes, the Cotton Mouse is dark golden-brown above with white underparts and feet. It is very similar to the white-footed Mouse, with which it breeds in captivity. Although Cotton Mice prefer to live in such wet habitats as bottomland hardwood forests, hammocks, and swamps, they also tend to inhabit buildings, making them well known to people in the southern United States. With average longevity of only 4-5 months, female Cotton Mice must mature and reproduce rather quickly. Gestation lasts 23 days. Weaning occurs at 4 weeks, when the young reach about 85 percent of adult weight. The Cotton Mouse is truly the all-purpose mouse: ridged feet help to make it an agile climber, and it is also a good swimmer and diver. It is an omnivore, eating most anything available.
Length:
Range:
142-206 mm
Weight:
Range:
17-46 g
References:
LeConte, J.L., 1853. Descriptions of three new species of American arvicolae, with remarks upon some other American rodents, p. 411. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 6:404-415.
Links:
Mammal Species of the World
Click here for The American Society of Mammalogists species account
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