Steppe mouse
Apodemus witherbyi
moshe_neeman
Key facts in one look
- Size
- Body 7.7–11 cm, 16–34 g
- Diet
- Seeds, acorns, fruit, insects
- Status in Georgia
- Native
- Habitat
- Scrubby steppe, forests, up to 2,800 m
- Family
- Muridae
- Conservation
- LC / LC
The steppe mouse (Apodemus witherbyi) is a slender mouse with a yellowish-brown back and a white belly, divided from the back by a sharp line. It lives in very different places: open steppe, scrub, forest and degraded forest, up to 2,800 m. Its range runs from south-eastern Ukraine and southern Russia through the Caucasus, Georgia included, Turkey, the Middle East and Iran to Turkmenistan. It is active at night and feeds mainly on seeds and acorns. Like other rodents it can carry diseases, so do not pick one up.
Identification
Steppe mouse: how to identify it
A medium-sized, slender mouse. The back ranges from yellowish brown to wood brown, and the white belly is sharply set off from it. The tail is two-toned and equal to the body or slightly longer.
The body is 7.7–11 cm long, the tail 7.5–11.8 cm, the ear 1.4–1.8 cm, and it weighs 16–34 g. The tail averages 103% of the body length.
The little mouse has a darker, brown back and a whitish-grey belly, while the broad-toothed mouse is much bigger and grey. Wood mice look very alike and can often be told apart reliably only by measurements or genetics. So take a photo and leave the animal alone.
Colour
Swatches are illustrative. Do not identify a species by colour alone.
It lives in a wide variety of places. In Turkey it has been found both in open ground and in cedar forests, in scrub and in degraded forest. In open steppe it needs shrub cover and rocky patches, as in wormwood, pistachio and almond steppe. It occurs up to 2,800 m.
It is omnivorous, but seeds and acorns dominate its diet. Fruit, flowers, stems and mushrooms follow. In varying proportions it also eats insects, snails and earthworms.
It is active at night and lives on the ground. Breeding is probably more common in spring and summer. A litter has 1–7 young, 4–5 on average. Nothing is known about its movements or social life.
Related guides
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Yes. Georgia is part of its wide range, which runs from south-eastern Ukraine to Turkmenistan, Armenia and Azerbaijan included. It favours scrubby and stony steppe, forests and degraded forest. It occurs up to 2,800 m.
It is slender, with a yellowish-brown back and a pure white belly sharply set off from it. The tail is two-toned and equal to the body or slightly longer. The little mouse is darker, and the broad-toothed mouse is big and grey. A sure identification often needs measurements, so take a photo and keep your hands off.
Mostly seeds and acorns. It adds fruit, flowers, stems and mushrooms. It also eats insects, snails and earthworms. It forages at night, on the ground.
No, it is not threatened. Globally it is rated Least Concern (LC), and in Georgia the 2021 national assessment also rates it Least Concern (LC), with a stable population. It adapts to many different places, degraded forest included.
References
What this profile is based on
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
Prepared by the Reptiles.ge editorial team from the sources listed here.
