Reithrodontomys (Reithrodontomys) humulis (Audubon and Bachman 1841)

[Mus] humulis Audubon and Bachman 1841, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 1: 97.

Type Locality: USA, South Carolina, Charleston Co., vicinity of Charleston.

Vernacular Names: Eastern Harvest Mouse.

Synonyms: Reithrodontomys (Reithrodontomys) carolinensis (Audubon and Bachman 1842); Reithrodontomys (Reithrodontomys) dickinsoni Rhoads 1895; Reithrodontomys (Reithrodontomys) impiger Bangs 1898; Reithrodontomys (Reithrodontomys) lecontii (Audubon and Bachman 1842); Reithrodontomys (Reithrodontomys) merriami J. A. Allen 1895; Reithrodontomys (Reithrodontomys) virginianus A. H. Howell 1940 .

Distribution: SE USA, from E Oklahoma and E Texas eastwards to the Atlantic seaboard, from S Maryland to peninsular Florida.

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Subgenus Reithrodontomys, megalotis species group. The standard and banded karyotypes depart markedly from other species of the megalotis group, and substantial variation in fundamental numbers has been reported among populations (Bradley et al, 1988; Carleton and Myers, 1979; Engstrom et al., 1981; Robbins and Baker, 1980). Genetically strongly divergent from six other species of the subgenus Reithrodontomys based on cytochrome b sequences (Bell et al., 2001). Whitaker and Hamilton (1998) regarded the subspecies virginianus and humulis as broadly intergrading and synonymized the former; L. Choate and Jones (1998) mentioned possible westward expansion of R. h. merriami in Oklahoma. See Stalling (1997, Mammalian Species, 565).