Systematic studies of deer mice, <i>Peromyscus maniculatus</i> Wagner (Cricetidae, Rodentia): analysis of age and secondary sexual variation in morphometric characters

Abstract

Age variation and secondary sexual dimorphism in three external and 27 cranial characters of wild-taken deer mice, Peromyscus maniculatus Wagner, from the United States and Canada were analyzed statistically. Specimens were classified as subadults, young adults, middle-aged adults, and old adults based on pelage colour and tooth wear. Variation among the four age-classes was evident. Significant secondary sexual dimorphism between sexes of the same age-class was not evident. Univariate and multivariate phenetic analyses using specimens of the comparable age-classes are necessary to clarify the systematic status of P. maniculatus.