Peromyscus Research at Texas A&M University

Figure 1. Image of the North American deer mouse, Peromyscus maniculatus. Credit: Animal Diversity Web (P. Myers)

Rodents belonging to the genus Peromyscus (Figure 1) can be found all across the North and Central America, occupying a huge diversity of habitats (Figure 2).

​There are over 80 species currently recognized, with many of these species allocated into closely-related species groups.  The Peromyscus maniculatus species group consists of nine species distributed across the United States and Mexico (Figure 3). But there are many unanswered questions about the P. maniculatus species group:

• These species often look very similar and can be difficult to identify and differentiate from each other and other Peromyscus species co-occurring in the same area.
• Our understanding of the geographic distributions of each species is incomplete.
• There is not a lot of evidence supporting species level recognition for many of the species.

Figure 2. North American distributions of eight Peromyscus species. Image from Bedford and Hoekstra (2015)

Figure 3. Distribution of the species belonging to the Peromyscus maniculatus species group. Image from Greenbaum et al. (2019)

We are trying to address these lingering issues through morphological and genomic analysis of specimens and data obtained from natural history collections. Data we are collecting and analyzing include cranial and post-cranial elements in 3D (via CT scanning), mitochondrial genomes, and nuclear data from ultra conserved elements. We are examining these data both individually and in combined frameworks to better understand species diversity, distributions, and morphology. 

Peromyscus on Social Media

Grace and Purple Turtle Highlighted online August 2026: A Downtown Bryan mural brings art and science to life

New posts April 2026!
From @bellmuseum on Instagram. Even small changes in the smallest mammal species can reveal shifts in our understanding of evolution. Learn more about undergraduate student Brady Fisher's directed research project in this video. 

From @tamueccb on Instagram. From lab to mural: science meets art in Downtown Bryan. Read all about it here.

Peromyscus Research Team

Brandy Craft, Texas A&M University

Haley Ellis, Texas A&M University

Dr. Ira Greenbaum, Texas A&M University

Dr. Natalie Hamilton, University of Alaska Museum https://nataliehamilton.weebly.com/

Dr. Sharon Jansa, University of Minnesota https://www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/blog/bat-for-biodiversity/

Dr. Jessica Light, Texas A&M University

Grace Martindale, Texas A&M University

Dr. Philip Myers, University of Michigan https://lsa.umich.edu/eeb/people/faculty-emeriti/pmyers.html

Dr. Leila Siciliano-Martina, Texas State University https://leilamartina.weebly.com/

Amazing Undergraduate Researchers (Fall 2026): Ally Lerro
Amazing Undergraduate Researchers (Spring 2026): Madi Bergeron, Ally Lerro
Amazing Undergraduate Researchers (Fall 2025): Madi Bergeron, Ally Garcia, Ally Lerro