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Wood Mouse
Conservation status
Least Concern
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Rodentia Superfamily: Muroidea Family: Muridae Subfamily: Murinae Genus: Apodemus Species: A. sylvaticus
Binomial name
Apodemus sylvaticus (Linnaeus, 1758)

The wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus), also called the long-tailed field mouse, is a common rodent that was recognised as a distinct species in 1894. 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 90mm in length. If a wood mouse is caught by its tail, it can quickly shed the end of it, which may never regrow^[1]. The wood mouse does not hibernate and, despite its name, it prefers hedgerows to woodland. It is found across most of Europe, extending north into southern Scandinavia and the British Isles.^[2]

Almost entirely nocturnal, wood mice burrow extensively, digging a series of chambers and runs. Their usual habitat is woodlands, fields and hedgerows, although they are also found in open grassland.

The geographical isolation and recent glacial history of Shetland have resulted in a depleted mammalian fauna. The wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus L.), along with the brown rat (Rattus norvegicus Berkenhout) and the house mouse (Mus musculus domesticus Schwartz & Schwartz), are one of only three recorded types of rodent present on the island. Based largely on morphological studies of epigenetic variations, the source of the original founding population has been attributed to Norway with the most obvious date of introduction being presumed to be around the 9th century AD with the arrival of the Vikings. However, archaeological evidence now suggests that this species was present during the Middle Iron Age (around 200 BC - AD 400), and one theory proposes that Apodemus was in fact introduced from Orkney where a population had existed since at the least the Bronze Age.^[3]

"Field mouse" is the name for a large group of mice in the UK but the true field mouse is the long-tailed field mouse or wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus). They have a solid brown coat with a white belly as shown in the picture. For their size, they have very large eyes and ears. They grow to roughly 10cm long and weigh 30 grams when full grown. They are omnivorous and eat a range of seeds, worms, berries, small insects and carrion. In deciduous woodland they will eat acorns and sycamore seeds for the winter, buds in spring, insects and seeds in summer and berries and fungi in autumn. However they will eat their own tail if faced with starvation. They are prey to many animals, including owls and foxes and therefore have a short life, normally living for 6 to 12 months. However in captivity they can live for over 20 months. They live in any place where it can find food or shelter but traditionally live in hedgerows, forests and grass lands. They make their nests wherever it is warm and there is cover. This means that they will usually nest underground but will nest in other warm environments. They are mostly nocturnal and have great hearing and vision. However, they prefer dark moonless nights. They live in a series of tunnels underground and some can be quite complicated. Food is sometimes stored in underground burrows but food has been found in disused bird nests and other small holes. They generally eat the pips and not the flesh of the fruits. They have nests made of leaves, moss and grass in these tunnels. In winter, the wood mouse will sometimes fill the nest with extra material and may block the entrance with sticks and stones. They will sleep in clumps of grass and leaves like in this picture. The wood mouse has been proven to be extremely intelligent. If given time, it will think out a strategy before doing something. It is also very fast for its size and can go at almost ten strals per hour. They have extremely small but sharp claws, which they use to dig into houses to scavenge food. They assess a situation before doing anything. They will judge whether it is too risky, dangerous or useless and they often look out for each other. However, if they are being chased, they will dart undercover or into small nooks and crannies.

• Apodemus sylvaticus in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History MSW Scientific Names
• Apodemus sylvaticus in the Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist
• Apodemus sylvaticus in Fauna Europaea
• Apodemus sylvaticus in the Animal Diversity Web
• The wood mouse, an excellent article in French