White-footed Mouse is a rodent

Rodent

Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....

 native to North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

. It ranges from Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, Labrador

Labrador

Labrador is the distinct, northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the mainland portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle...

 and the Maritime Provinces (excluding island of Newfoundland) to the southwest USA and Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

. It is also known as the Woodmouse, particularly in Texas.

Adults are 90 – in length, not counting the tail, which can add another 63 –. A young adult weighs 20 –. While their maximum life span is 96 months, the mean life expectancy for the species is 45.5 months for females and 47.5 for males. In northern climates the average life expectancy is 12–24 months.

This species is similar to Peromyscus maniculatus

Peromyscus maniculatus

Peromyscus maniculatus is a rodent native to North America. It is most commonly called the Deer Mouse, although that name is common to most species of Peromyscus and is fairly widespread across the continent, with the major exception being the southeast United States and the far north.Like other...

, the Deer Mouse. Like the deer mouse, it may carry hantavirus

Hantavirus

Hantaviruses are negative sense RNA viruses in the Bunyaviridae family. Humans may be infected with hantaviruses through rodent bites, urine, saliva or contact with rodent waste products...

es, which cause severe illness in humans.

It has also been found to be a competent reservoir for the Lyme disease

Lyme disease

Lyme disease, or Lyme borreliosis, is an emerging infectious disease caused by at least three species of bacteria belonging to the genus Borrelia. Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto is the main cause of Lyme disease in the United States, whereas Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii cause most...

 causing spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi

Borrelia burgdorferi

Borrelia burgdorferi is a species of Gram negative bacteria of the spirochete class of the genus Borrelia. B. burgdorferi is predominant in North America, but also exists in Europe, and is the agent of Lyme disease....

.

External links

• White-footed Mouse, State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry
• White-footed Mouse, CanadianFauna.com
• White-footed Mouse, Canadian Biodiversity Website