Mus spretus Lataste, 1883 . Acta Linn. Soc. Bordeaux, ser. 7, 4:27.

TYPE LOCALITY: Algeria, Oued Magra, between M'sila and Barika, north of Hodna .

DISTRIBUTION: S France, Spain (incl. Balearic Isis), Portugal, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya (see map in Marshall, 1981).

SYNONYMS: hispanicus, lusitanicus, lynesi, mogrebinus, parvus, rifensis.

COMMENTS: Subgenus Mus . This species was the subject of biometrical and morphological analyses (Darviche and Orsini, 1982; Engels, 1980, 1983b; Gerasimov et al., 1990; Palomo, 1988; Palomo et al., 1983; Vargas, et al., 1984), as well as chromosomal and electrophoretic studies (Cano et al., 1984; Engels, 1983«; Matsuda and Chapman, 1992; Traut et al., 1992). Analysis of variability in mitochrondrial DNA revealed two genetically distinct phylogenetic groups within spretus (Boursot, et al., 1985). Differences between M. spretus and M. musculus in thermoregulatory capabilities reported by Górecki et al. (1990). Alcover et al. (1985) described parvus as a subspecies of M. spretus .