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{{Short description|Species of rodent}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Wood mouse
| image = ApodemusSylvaticus.jpg
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{cite iucn|author= Schlitter, D.|author2= van der Straeten, E.|author3= Amori, G.|author4= Hutterer, R.|author5= Kryštufek, B.|author6= Yigit, N.|author7= Mitsainas, G.|year=2021|page= e.T1904A197270811|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T1904A197270811.en|title= ''Apodemus sylvaticus'' |amends=2016|access-date=23 April 2021}}</ref>
| genus = Apodemus
| species = sylvaticus
| authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]])
| range_map = Apodemus_sylvaticus_distribution.PNG
| range_map_caption = ''Apodemus sylvaticus'' range (in green)
| synonyms = ''Mus sylvaticus'' {{small|Linnaeus, 1758}}
}}

The '''wood mouse''' ('''''Apodemus sylvaticus''''') is a [[Muridae|murid]] [[rodent]] native to Europe and northwestern Africa. It is closely related to the [[yellow-necked mouse]] (''Apodemus flavicollis'') but differs in that it has no band of yellow fur around the [[neck]], has slightly smaller ears, and is usually slightly smaller overall: around 90 mm (3.54 in) in length and 23 g in weight.<ref name="Alcántara1991">{{cite journal|last1= Alcántara|first1= M.|title= Geographical variation in body size of the Wood Mouse ''Apodemus sylvaticus'' L.|journal= Mammal Review|volume= 21|issue= 3|year= 1991|pages= 143–150|doi= 10.1111/j.1365-2907.1991.tb00115.x}}</ref> It is found across most of Europe and is a very common and widespread species, is [[commensal]] with people and is sometimes considered a pest.<ref name=iucn /> Other common names are '''long-tailed field mouse''', '''field mouse''', '''common field mouse''', and '''European wood mouse'''.<ref>Wrobel, Murray. (2006). ''Elsevier's Dictionary of Mammals''. [[Elsevier]], {{ISBN|978-0-444-51877-4}}.</ref> This species is a known potential carrier of the Dobrava sequence of [[hantavirus]] which affects humans and may pose serious risks to human health.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Weidmann|first1=Manfred|last2=Schmidt|first2=P.|last3=Vackova|first3=M.|last4=Krivanec|first4=K.|last5=Munclinger|first5=P.|last6=Hufert|first6=F. T.|date=February 2005|title=Identification of Genetic Evidence for Dobrava Virus Spillover in Rodents by Nested Reverse Transcription (RT)-PCR and TaqMan RT-PCR|journal=Journal of Clinical Microbiology|language=en|volume=43|issue=2|pages=808–812|doi=10.1128/JCM.43.2.808-812.2005|pmid=15695684|issn=0095-1137|pmc=548048}}</ref>
[[File:Apodemus sylvaticus-gt.jpg|thumb|Upper front teeth with a smooth inner surface which distinguish the wood mouse from the [[house mouse]]]]

==Habitat and distribution==
[[File:Wood Mouse.JPG|thumb|"Harvest, Wood Mouse" illustration from ''British Mammals'' by A. Thorburn, 1920]]

Wood mice inhabit forests, grasslands, and cultivated fields, tending to seek out more wooded areas in winter.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Journal of Mammalogy|author=J. L. Tellería|author2=T. Santos|author3=M. Alcántara|volume=72|issue=1|pages=183–187|date=1991|title=Abundance and Food-Searching Intensity of Wood Mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) in Fragmented Forests|url=https://www.ucm.es/data/cont/media/www/pag-33468/1991_JMammalogy_72_183.pdf|access-date=2 November 2018|doi=10.2307/1381994|jstor=1381994|doi-access=free}}</ref> Almost entirely [[nocturnal]] and terrestrial, wood mice burrow extensively, build nests of plants and live in buildings during harsh seasons. It is one of the most intensively studied species in the genus. In Europe, it ranges north to Scandinavia and east to Ukraine. The wood mouse is also found in northwestern Africa and on many Mediterranean islands.<ref>''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 2008. [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/206303/wood-mouse Wood mouse]</ref>

==Diet==
Wood mice are primarily seed eaters,<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Fedriani | first1 = J. M. | year = 2005 | title = Do frugivorous mice choose where or what to feed? | journal = Journal of Mammalogy | volume = 86 | issue = 3| pages = 576–586 | doi=10.1644/1545-1542(2005)86[576:dfmcwo]2.0.co;2| doi-access = free }}</ref> particularly seeds of trees such as oak, beech, ash, lime, hawthorn, and sycamore. If seeds are plentiful on the ground, they carry them back to their nests/burrows for storage.<ref>{{cite news|work=The Guardian|title=Country diary: a close encounter with a wood mouse|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/sep/06/country-diary-a-close-encounter-with-a-wood-mouse|author=Phil Gates|date=6 September 2018|access-date=2 November 2018}}</ref> They may eat small invertebrates such as snails and insects, particularly in late spring and early summer when seeds are least available. Later in the season they will eat berries, fruits, fungi and roots. In winter, they may prey on hibernating bats, but this is still debatable.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Population Ecology|date=2016|title=Predation of wood mice (''Apodemus sylvaticus'') on hibernating bats|volume=58|issue=4|pages=567–576|author=Anne-Jifke Haarsma|author2=Rutger Kaal|name-list-style=amp|doi=10.1007/s10144-016-0557-y |doi-access=free}}</ref>

==Behaviour==
Wood mice are mainly active during the dark, probably having evolved so to avoid predation, employing several anti-predatory strategies, though breeding females may be more active in daylight in order to collect sufficient food.<ref>{{cite book|title=Activity patterns in small mammals: An ecological approach|author=S. Halle|author2=N.C. Stenseth|name-list-style=amp|isbn=9783642182648|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IkrmCAAAQBAJ&q=Wood+Mouse+predators|publisher=Springer|date=2012|access-date=2 November 2018}}</ref> While foraging, wood mice pick up and distribute visually conspicuous objects, such as leaves and twigs, which they then use as landmarks during exploration.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Stopka|first=P. |date=April 2003|title=Way-marking behaviour: an aid to spatial navigation in the wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) |journal=BMC Ecology|volume= 3|pages= 3|doi=10.1186/1472-6785-3-3|doi-access=free|pmid=12697070 |pmc=154096 |display-authors=etal}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|journal=Nature|title=Mice make their own signposts|date=2 May 2003|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/news030428-16|access-date=4 February 2020}}</ref> If a wood mouse is caught by its tail, it can quickly shed the end of it, which may never regrow.<ref>Goaman, K., Amery, H. (1983). ''Mysteries & Marvels of the Animal World'', p. 15.</ref> Despite its name, it prefers [[hedgerow]]s to [[woodland]]. During the colder months, wood mice do not [[Hibernation|hibernate]]; however, during severe winter seasons they can fall into a [[Torpor|torpid state]], a decrease in physiological activity.

==Predation==
Predators of wood mice include foxes, snakes, weasels, birds of prey including owls, and also cats and dogs.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Mammal Society|url=http://www.mammal.org.uk/sites/default/files/factsheets/wood_mouse_complete.pdf|access-date=2 November 2018}}</ref>

==Reproduction==
The wood mouse has a [[breeding season]] from February to October in which multiple matings occur between males and females, resulting in [[scramble competition]]. Such behavioral characteristics result in [[sperm competition]] and multiple paternity litters. The society is [[polygyny|polygynous]] with [[copulation (zoology)|copulation]] resulting from scramble competition during reproductive periods. Males possess a [[wikt:sac|sac]] known as the cauda epididymis, which stores sperm and lies underneath the [[scrotum|scrotal]] protrusion. Temperature regulation ensures maximum sperm output.

One interesting observation about the species, in particular the males, is the morphology of the [[spermatozoa]]. They develop falciform (sickle-shaped) heads after [[meiosis]] and before [[spermiation]] (release during [[ejaculation]]). The hook located at the tip of the head adheres to the surface of the head prior to deployment. [[Propidium iodide]] staining revealed that only the basal surface of the hook is of nuclear origin. These apical hooks are deployed in the female reproductive tract (the mechanism responsible involved the remodeling of actin filaments in the hook). Deployed apical hooks combine with apical hooks and flagella of other spermatozoa. The aggregates of spermatozoa that result in form "mobile trains", which have experimentally been determined to possess better motility in the female reproductive tract.<ref name="Moore2002">{{cite journal |last=Moore |first=Harry |year=2002 |title=Exceptional sperm cooperation in the wood mouse |journal=Nature |volume=418 |issue=6894 |pages=174–177 |doi=10.1038/nature00832 |url= http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/114/1/moorhd1.pdf|pmid=12110888 |s2cid=4413444 |display-authors=etal}}</ref> The mobility of these mobile trains was also found to be influenced by premature acrosome reactions, [[altruism|altruistic]] acts performed by some spermatozoa for the benefit of other genetically similar [[gametocyte]]s. This altruism follows a "[[Green-beard effect|green beard]]" mechanism in which spermatozoa discern the genetic similarity of surrounding gametocytes (such mechanisms are rare because they must code for a recognizable phenotype, as well as response mechanisms). Once spermatozoa of similar genotypes are identified, altruism genes are turned on to elicit a response that seeks to conserve the genes present in the other cell, even if it results in the destruction of the cell performing the action.

The [[gestation]] period of wood mice is of 25–26 days and each female produces on average four young per year. The offspring become independent after about three weeks and become sexually active after two months.

==Gallery==
<gallery mode=packed>
180626-Waldmaus-01.jpg|juvenile specimen
Apodemus sylvaticus bosmuis.jpg|portrait
Cherry stone hoard.JPG|[[cherry]] stone hoard
WaldMausWikipedia2.webm|Wood mouse in an attic
</gallery>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*Fairley, J.S. 1975. ''An Irish Beast Book''. Blackstaff Press Limited. ISBN 0-85640-090-4

== External links ==

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070730101009/http://nmnhgoph.si.edu/cgi-bin/wdb/msw/names/query/23053 ''Apodemus sylvaticus''] in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History MSW Scientific Names
*[http://www.catalogueoflife.org/show_species_details.php?record_id=3871270 ''Apodemus sylvaticus''] in the Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071001090757/http://www.faunaeur.org/full_results.php?id=305586 ''Apodemus sylvaticus''] in Fauna Europaea
*[http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Apodemus_sylvaticus.html ''Apodemus sylvaticus''] in the Animal Diversity Web
*[http://ecologie.nature.free.fr/pages/mammiferes/mulot.htm The wood mouse], an excellent article in French
*[https://www.doi.org/10.1046/j.1439-0310.1999.00485.x The market effect in the wood mouse], an excellent abstract of research done on grooming and reproduction in wood mouse

{{Murinae (Aethomys–Chrotomys)}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q212185}}

[[Category:Apodemus]]
[[Category:Rodents of Asia]]
[[Category:Rodents of North Africa]]
[[Category:Rodents of Europe]]
[[Category:Mammals of Russia]]
[[Category:Mammals of Turkey]]
[[Category:Mammals of Iceland]]
[[Category:Mammals described in 1758]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]

Wood mouse - Revision history

Ajay Kumar: Created a new article