California Mouse or Western Deer Mouse
Peromyscus californicus or Peromyscus sonoriensis
The American deer mouse has been split into two distinct species, western deer mouse, found west of the Mississippi river and the eastern deer mouse, found east of the Mississippi river. The American Deer Mouse is the most widespread species of deer mouse in the U.S.
The California deermouse or California mouse is closely related to the western deer mouse and is the most common and biggest species found in California. Ranging form northwestern Mexico to central California.
The deer mice have a distinct coloration of a creamy white belly and a dorsal coat mainly orange mixed with black and brown.
Unfortunately over the past few years this is the only instance in which I have captured the Deer Mouse. My confidence in it being a California Deer Mouse is high due to its known commonality in our area however there is a chance it can be the western deer mouse.
- Number of confirmed specimens : 1
- Number of pictures : 1
References
Reis, Fiona A. A Field Guide to Mammals of North America North of Mexico. 4th ed., Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006, pp 40-43, 140-141, 275-278
California deermouse, Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Sep, 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_deermouse. Accessed 26, April 2026
Western deer mouse, Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 20 March, 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_deer_mouse. Accessed 26, April 2026