NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Taiwan Field Mouse
Apodemus semotus Thomas, 1908
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Taiwan field mouse, also called Formosan wood mouse (Apodemus semotus), is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.
It is found only in Taiwan.
The Taiwan field mouse is primarily distributed in the montane region between 1,400 and 3,000 m. They inhabit various habitat types, such as natural or planted forests, grasslands, farms, and campsites, and are omnivorous feeding on plants, insects and fungi.
Based on morphological measurements, it has been suggested that the Taiwan field mouse is not different from the South China field mouse (Apodemus draco), and should not be considered as a separate species.
The Taiwan field mouse is sexually dimorphic, with male generally larger than females (male: 25.6 ± 0.5 g; female: 23.8 ± 0.5 g). Mark-capture-recapture data suggest that their life span may be less than 1 year in the wild.
Wikipedia contributors, Taiwan field mouse; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:12:30.887396+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Apodemus semotus Thomas, 1908
- Name authority
- Thomas, 1908
- Common name
- Taiwan Field Mouse
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Muridae
- Genus
- Apodemus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderRodentia Bowdich, 1821
- suborderMyomorpha Brandt, 1855
- superfamilyMuroidea Illiger, 1811
- familyMuridae Illiger, 1811
- subfamilyMurinae Illiger, 1811
- genusApodemus Kaup, 1829
- speciesApodemus semotus Thomas, 1908
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Apodemus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Striped Field MouseApodemus agrarius (Pallas, 1771) | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Small Japanese Field MouseApodemus argenteus (Temminck, 1845) | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| South China Field MouseApodemus draco (Barrett-Hamilton, 1900) | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Western Broad-toothed Field MouseApodemus epimelas (Nehring, 1902) | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Yellow-necked Field MouseApodemus flavicollis (Melchior, 1834) | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Hyrcanian Field MouseApodemus hyrcanicus Vorontsov, Boyeskorov & Mezhzherin, 1992 | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Large-eared Field MouseApodemus latronum Thomas, 1911 | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Eastern Broad-toothed Field MouseApodemus mystacinus (Danford & Alston, 1877) | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Himalayan Field MouseApodemus pallipes (Barrett-Hamilton, 1900) | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Korean Field MouseApodemus peninsulae (Thomas, 1907) | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Caucasus Field MouseApodemus ponticus (Sviridenko, 1936) | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Kashmir Field MouseApodemus rusiges Miller, 1913 | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=585141 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:FRJG. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.