Puebla Deer Mouse

The Puebla deer mouse (Peromyscus mekisturus) is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. Only two specimens are known, both from Puebla, Mexico, with the last collected in 1947. It is therefore possible that the species is now extinct, although it is currently listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN.

Advanced studies have identified that P. mekisturus is a sister species of Reithrodontomys. The study used mitogenome phylogeny to identify the sister species of P. mekisturus.

References

• Musser, G. G. and M. D. Carleton. (2005). Superfamily Muroidea. pp. 894–1531 in Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder eds. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
• Castañeda-Rico, S., León-Paniagua, L., Edwards, C. W., & Maldonado, J. E. (2020). Ancient DNA From Museum Specimens and Next Generation Sequencing Help Resolve the Controversial Evolutionary History of the Critically Endangered Puebla Deer Mouse. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2020.00094