A synopsis of Asian species of Mus (Rodentia, Muridae). Bulletin of the AMNH ; v. 158, article 3

Abstract

"There are no outdoor, white-bellied house mice, Mus musculus, from southeast Asia to India. Outdoor habitats of this hiatus are occupied by other species of the genus Mus belonging to three subgenera: Pyromys, Rattus-like in its supraorbital ridges and embracing five woodland species; the shrewlike subgenus Coelomys whose five species are isolated on mountain forests; and six or more species of the subgenus Mus found in forest, scrub, grass, and cultivated fields but skipping over the most humid parts of the Malay Archipelago. These species are defined by qualitative differences in the shape of the skull, size, color, proportions, and karyotype. Inside buildings of this same hiatus area occur dark-bellied house mice with ochraceous tints, Mus musculus castaneus and M. m. tytleri. Their peculiar zygomatic plate shows their derivation from white-bellied Mus musculus of eastern Asia"--P. 177.