Angel Island mouse
The Angel Island mouse (Peromyscus guardia), or La Guarda deermouse, is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae.The Angel Island mouse has pale grey-brown fur with white underparts and feet, and large, hairless ears.It is most readily distinguished from closely related species on the mainland by subtle characteristics of the skull, or through genetic or biochemical analysis.[3] Three subspecies are formally recognised, although two of these are now extinct: The Angel Island mouse is believed to be descended from an isolated population of cactus mice,[4] possibly belonging to the P. e. fraterculus species or subspecies[5] The critically endangered San Lorenzo mouse, which inhabits a smaller group of islands to the south, may be descended from the same stock, isolated when the islands separated from the mainland as sea levels rose at the end of the last ice age.[10] The species is currently listed as critically endangered by the IUCN, but since no living specimens have been seen for 20 years, as of 2011[update], it may well be entirely extinct.