| Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANIMALIA | CHORDATA | MAMMALIA | RODENTIA | MURIDAE |
| Scientific Name: | Apodemus sylvaticus | |||||||||
| Species Authority: | (Linnaeus, 1758) | |||||||||
Common Name/s:
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| Red List Category & Criteria: | Least Concern ver 3.1 | ||||||
| Year Assessed: | 2008 | ||||||
| Assessor/s | Schlitter, D., van der Straeten, E., Amori, G., Hutterer, R., Kryštufek, B., Yigit, N. & Mitsain, G. | ||||||
| Evaluator/s: | Amori, G. (Small Nonvolant Mammal Red List Authority) & Temple, H. (Global Mammal Assessment Team) | ||||||
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Justification: Listed as Least Concern because, it is a very common and widespread species. It is commensal with people and is sometimes considered to be a pest. |
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| History: |
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| Range Description: |
The wood mouse has a large range that extends throughout Europe (with the exception of Finland and northern parts of Scandinavia, the Baltic and Russia) and parts of North Africa (Panteleyev 1998, Montgomery 1999, Wilson and Reeder 2005). In Europe, the species occurs from southern Europe northwards to Scandinavia; eastwards to northwest Turkey (Thrace and northwestern Anatolia), central Belarus, eastern Ukraine, and closely adjacent parts of the western Russian Federation (the easternmost limit of the species). In Africa, it occurs in the Atlas Mountains and north of them along the entire coastal plain. It is present on the majority of offshore islands including the British Isles, Iceland and numerous Mediterranean islands: for example the Aegean islands, Greece, some islands in the Tuscan Archipelago, Sardinia and Corsica, Italy. It occurs from sea level to 3,300 m in the High Atlas mountains. |
| Countries: |
Native:
Albania; Algeria; Andorra; Austria; Belarus; Belgium; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bulgaria; Croatia; Czech Republic; Denmark; France; Germany; Greece; Hungary; Iceland; Ireland; Italy; Liechtenstein; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of; Moldova; Monaco; Montenegro; Morocco; Netherlands; Norway; Poland; Portugal; Romania; Russian Federation; Serbia; Slovakia; Slovenia; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; Tunisia; Turkey; Ukraine; United Kingdom
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| Range Map: |
(click map to view full version)
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| Population: | It is widespread and abundant throughout much of its range, and populations appear to be stable. Population density may fluctuate more than tenfold between years of maximum and minimum abundance, but there are no regular cycles (Montgomery 1999). It is very abundant and in places it is considered to be a pest species. |
| Population Trend: |
Stable
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| Habitat and Ecology: | It is a very adaptable species, inhabiting a wide variety of semi-natural habitats including all types of woodland, moorland, steppe, arid Mediterranean shrubland, and sand dunes. It is also found in many man-made habitats including suburban and urban parks, gardens and wasteland, pastures and arable fields, and forestry plantations. It has an omnivorous diet including seeds and invertebrates. Although it can cause occasional damage, it is not generally considered an agricultural pest (Montgomery 1999). |
| Systems: | Terrestrial |
| Major Threat(s): | There are no major threats to this species, although pollution by lead and agrochemicals may have localised negative impacts. |
| Conservation Actions: | It occurs in many protected areas within its range. No specific conservation actions are needed. |
| Citation: | Schlitter, D., van der Straeten, E., Amori, G., Hutterer, R., Kryštufek, B., Yigit, N. & Mitsain, G. 2008. Apodemus sylvaticus. In: IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 09 January 2009. |
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