Adult coloured juveniles of Apodemus flavicollis (Rodentia: Muridae) [Dospelo sfarbené juvenily Apodemus flavicollis (Rodentia: Muridae)]

Pages

225–228

Citation

JURČOVIČOVÁ, Martina, HIADLOVSKÁ, Zuzana a KOCIAN, Ľudovít. Adult coloured juveniles of Apodemus flavicollis (Rodentia: Muridae) [Dospelo sfarbené juvenily Apodemus flavicollis (Rodentia: Muridae)]. Lynx, new series. Prague: National Museum, 2010, 41(1), 225–228. ISSN 0024-7774 (print), 1804-6460 (online). Also available from: https://publikace.nm.cz/en/periodicals/lns/41-1/adult-coloured-juveniles-of-apodemus-flavicollis-rodentia-muridae-dospelo-sfarbene-juvenily-apodemus-flavicollis-rodentia-muridae

Lynx, new series | 2010/41/1

In this paper we describe an interesting case of adult coloration in juveniles of Apodemus flavicollis (Melchior, 1834). It is well known that juveniles and also subadults of wood mice of the subgenus Sylvaemus are gray and they change this juvenile coloration to adult coloration when they mature. Among 271 juveniles of A. flavicollis caught in three localities of Slovakia during the years 2000–2006, two juveniles were adult coloured. These juveniles were very young, one had not even left the nest (weight 2.5 g) and the other one had probably just left the nest (weight 5 g). Usually older juveniles are caught. There are several possible explanations for these cases – individual variability in the development of coloration of juveniles, colour mutation or possibility that juveniles change the colour of their pelage twice.

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