Depends on who you ask. Mus systematics is kind of messy. Some people view Mus musculus, Mus domesticus, and Mus castaneus as distinct species. Some people call them subspecies of Mus musculus (i.e., Mus musculus musculus, Mus musculus domesticus, Mus musculus castaneus), and to confuse matters further lab mice (and... pet/feeder mice as well?) are hybrids of M. m. musculus and M. m. domesticus.

My impression (based on data from a recent talk by M. Nachman at NMSU; I don't know much about mouse systematics in general) is that the data supporting recognition of three separate species is along the same lines as Burbrink's stuff in Pantherophis. Which is to say, I don't buy it. However, if TPWD is accepting Burbrink's "species", they may as well accept these, too, to be consistent.


Really short version: without a clear specification of the intended taxonomy, reference to "Mus musculus" is ambiguous.

Patrick Alexander

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