---
title: "What the sources say about the House Mouse | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "46 claims from the House Mouse profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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canonical: "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/house-mouse/sources/"
---

# What the sources say about the House Mouse (*Mus musculus*)

> 46 claims from the House Mouse profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [House Mouse](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/house-mouse/)

## Amori (2025). Mus musculus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2025: e.T13972A221783227.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2025-1.rlts.t13972a221783227.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The wild species is rated Least Concern by the IUCN Red List. | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). (note: GBIF copy of the Red List, taxon 13972, assessment DOI t13972a221783227) |
| No. The IUCN Red List rates the species Least Concern. | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). (note: GBIF copy of the Red List) |

## Mus musculus (house mouse). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Mus_musculus/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A 12 to 30 gram squatter whose love songs are too high for human ears. | They range from 12 to 30 g in weight. (note: tagline; weight) |
| A 12 to 30 gram squatter whose love songs are too high for human ears. | male mice produce complex, ultrasonic songs in response to female sex pheromones (note: tagline) |
| Males sing ultrasonic songs when they smell a female | male mice produce complex, ultrasonic songs in response to female sex pheromones (note: superpower) |
| Houses, barns and granaries worldwide, plus cultivated fields and fencerows nearby | House mice generally live in close association with humans-- in houses, barns, granaries, etc. They also occupy cultivated fields, fencerows (note: habitat) |
| Houses, barns and granaries worldwide, plus cultivated fields and fencerows nearby | it has now been spread throughout the world by humans and lives as a human commensal (note: habitat; worldwide) |
| Omnivore: seeds, roots, leaves, insects and any human food within reach | house mice eat many kinds of plant matter, such as seeds, fleshy roots, leaves and stems. Insects (note: diet) |
| any human food within reach | consumes any human food that is accessible (note: diet) |
| he produces complex songs in ultrasound | male mice produce complex, ultrasonic songs in response to female sex pheromones |
| using pheromones and other scents to tell each other who is dominant, who is family and who is ready to breed | They use pheromones and other smells to communicate with each other about social dominance, family composition, and reproductive readiness. |
| Their whiskers read air movements and surface textures. | use their whiskers to feel air movements and surface textures |
| An adult measures 65 to 95 mm from nose to the end of its body, with a nearly hairless tail of 60 to 105 mm | House mice are from 65 to 95 mm long from the tip of their nose to the end of their body, their tails are 60 to 105 mm long. (note: size) |
| weighs 12 to 30 g | They range from 12 to 30 g in weight. (note: weight) |
| nearly hairless tail | They have long tails that have very little fur |
| In the wild, mice generally dwell in cracks in rocks or walls, or in underground burrows. | In the wild state, house mice generally dwell in cracks in rocks or walls or make underground burrows |
| They are generally nocturnal, run at up to 8 miles per hour, and climb, jump and swim well. | House mice are generally nocturnal ... House mice are quick runners (up to 8 miles per hour), good climbers, jumpers, and also swim well. |
| A female comes back into heat 12 to 18 hours after giving birth | Females experience a postpartum estrus 12-18 hours after giving birth. |
| Mice reproduce so rapidly that their populations can recover quickly from predators | They are also capable of reproducing very rapidly, which means that populations can recover quickly from predation. (note: predators list from ADW: cats, owls, snakes) |
| predators such as cats, owls and snakes | House mice are eaten by a wide variety of small predators throughout the world, including cats , foxes , weasels , ferrets , mongooses , large lizards , snakes , hawks , falcons , and owls |
| When conditions suit, females generally have 5 to 10 litters a year. | Females generally have 5-10 litters per year if conditions are suitable |
| Each litter holds 3 to 12 pups, usually 5 or 6, born naked and blind. Gestation lasts 19 to 21 days. | Gestation is 19-21 days but may be extended by several days if the female is lactating. Litters consist of 3-12 (generally 5 or 6) offspring, which are born naked and blind. |
| The pups are weaned at 3 weeks and sexually mature at 5 to 7 weeks. | are weaned at 3 weeks, and reach sexual maturity at 5-7 weeks |
| The house mouse's original range may have run from the Mediterranean to China. | may have originally been distributed from the Mediterranean region to China |
| Humans have spread it throughout the world, and it now lives as a commensal | it has now been spread throughout the world by humans and lives as a human commensal |
| It generally lives in houses, barns and granaries and seldom strays far from buildings | House mice generally live in close association with humans-- in houses, barns, granaries, etc. They also occupy cultivated fields, fencerows, and even wooded areas, but they seldom stray far from buildings |
| living with people has let it settle tundra and desert it could not occupy independently | Because of their association with humans, house mice have been able inhabit inhospitable areas (such as tundra and desert) which they would not be able to occupy independently. |
| Commensal populations can reach 10 mice per square meter, while wild ones may be less than 1 per 100 square meters. | Commensal populations of Mus musculus are generally stable and densities can be as high as 10 mice per square meter. In the wild, populations are less stable and densities may be less than 1 mouse per 100 square meters. (note: 'Crowded' is the body's word for 'as high as'; fixing in text) |
| In the wild a mouse eats seeds, fleshy roots, leaves and stems, plus insects and carrion when it can. | In the wild, house mice eat many kinds of plant matter, such as seeds, fleshy roots, leaves and stems. Insects ( beetle larvae , caterpillars , and cockroaches ) and meat (carrion) may be taken when available. |
| Indoors, it eats any accessible human food, and even glue and soap. | In human habitation, Mus musculus consumes any human food that is accessible as well as glue, soap, and other household materials. |
| Indoors it builds nests from rags and paper. | When living with humans, house mice nest behind rafters, in woodpiles, storage areas, or any hidden spot near a source of food. They construct nests from rags, paper, or other soft substances |
| Mice spoil stored food with their droppings, and they contribute to the spread of diseases such as murine typhus and salmonella. | they do consume and contaminate stored human food with their droppings ... they contribute to the spread of diseases such as murine typhus, rickettsial pox, tularemia, food poisoning (Salmonella) |
| Humans have bred many domestic forms, from white to black and spotted. | Many domestic forms of mice have been developed that vary in color from white to black and with spots. |
| One genetic strain, the "dancing" mouse, has inner ear defects that make it weave, circle and wobble as it walks. | The former refers to a genetic strain with inner ear defects, causing the mice to weave, turn in circles, and wobble when they walk. |
| The squeaks mice trade in the nest are the part you can hear. | House mice often squeak to each other in the nest. |
| You can hear their squeaks, but not their songs. | House mice often squeak to each other in the nest. They use pheromones and other smells to communicate with each other about social dominance, family composition, and reproductive readiness. It was recently discovered that male mice produce complex, ultrasonic songs (note: FAQ 2; ultrasonic means above human hearing (definition)) |
| A male's song is ultrasonic, pitched above human hearing, and he sings it in response to a female's sex pheromones. | male mice produce complex, ultrasonic songs in response to female sex pheromones (note: FAQ 2; 'pitched above human hearing' defines ultrasonic) |
| Under good conditions one female usually has 5 to 10 litters a year, and each brings 3 to 12 young, most often 5 or 6, after a pregnancy of just 19 to 21 days. | Females generally have 5-10 litters per year if conditions are suitable ... Gestation is 19-21 days ... Litters consist of 3-12 (generally 5 or 6) offspring (note: FAQ 3) |
| The house mouse (Mus musculus) sings, but you will never hear it. | male mice produce complex, ultrasonic songs in response to female sex pheromones (note: 'never hear' = ultrasonic, above the range of human hearing (definition)) |
| Male house mice produce complex ultrasonic songs in response to female sex pheromones | male mice produce complex, ultrasonic songs in response to female sex pheromones (note: vibe.reason) |
| weightKg: 0.02 | They range from 12 to 30 g in weight. (note: battleStats.weightKg, typical adult (#1117)) |
| dangerLevel: Medium | injures humans carries human disease (note: stats.dangerLevel (#1185): ADW lists injuring humans and carrying disease under negative impacts, so Medium (can injure, rarely seriously) rather than Low) |

## AnAge entry for Mus musculus. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Build 15, Human Ageing Genomic Resources.

https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Mus_musculus

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The record for a normal mouse is 4 years, set by a male from a wild-derived strain kept in a lab | The record longevity for normal mice is 4 years, belonging to one male specimen from a wild-derived strain kept in the lab |
| Four years at most, and that was in a laboratory. AnAge lists 4 years as the captive maximum for an ordinary mouse, reached by one male of a wild-derived strain. | Maximum longevity 4 years (captivity) ... The record longevity for normal mice is 4 years, belonging to one male specimen from a wild-derived strain kept in the lab (note: FAQ 1) |
| Mutant and calorie-restricted lab mice have outlived it, but AnAge leaves them out when comparing species. | Mutant and caloric restricted mice, however, can live over 4 years [ 0011 ], though these are not deemed suitable for species comparisons (note: FAQ 1) |

## Perlman (2016). Mouse Models of Human Disease: An Evolutionary Perspective. Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health.

https://doi.org/10.1093/emph/eow014

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A wild mouse's life expectancy is less than a year, depending on its surroundings. | wild mice have a much shorter life expectancy (less than a year, depending of course on environmental conditions) than do laboratory strains |