Transvolcanic Deermouse – Peromyscus hylocetes

Peromyscus hylocetesMerriam, 1898

Accepted name, Mammal Species of the World 2005

P. aztecus species group. Described and early maintained as a species (Merriam, 1898; Osgood, 1909), suggested as conspecific with oaxacensis (Hooper, 1968), and subsequently synonymized as one of five montane subspecies of P. aztecus, including oaxacensis (Carleton, 1979). Cladistic interpretation of cytochrome b sequence data indicates the earlier separation of a hylocetes lineage relative to other populations of P. aztecus (Sullivan and Kilpatrick, 1991; Sullivan et al., 1997, 2000), and genetic divergence levels favor its reinstatement as a species.

• Wilson, D and Reeder, D. (eds.) 2005. Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. 3rd ed. -- 2142 pp. Johns Hopkins University Press.