Authority citation: Thomas, O. 1908-05-01. New Asiatic Apodemus, Evotomys, and Lepus. Annals and Magazine of Natural History (8)1(5):447-450.
Authority publication link: https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/24296178
Original name as described: Apodemus semotus
Nominal names: semotus O. Thomas, 1908
Other common names: Formosan Wood Mouse
Taxonomy
Subclass: Theria -- Infraclass: Placentalia -- Order: Rodentia -- Family: Muridae -- Subfamily: Murinae -- Tribe: Apodemini
Type specimen voucher catalogue number: BMNH:Mamm:1908.4.1.48
Type locality: "Mt. Arizan, Central Formosa [= Taiwan]."
Country distribution (coarse map shown below; most species exist in only part of countries): Taiwan (TWN)
Species Status: This species is currently living, it lives in wild habitats, its taxonomic status is currently accepted, and it is listed in MSW3 2005.
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species status: Least concern
Species-specific notes: split from A. draco; a recent molecular study suggested splitting of Apodemus into three genera: Apodemus, Alsomys (including A. semotus), and Sylvaemus; this revision was based on phylogenies created using cytochrome b sequences that show Apodemus sensu lato as monophyletic, but the three proposed genera as paraphyletic with each other; the authors supported the revision with the deep divergence time between the various clades; however, given that the genus is already monophyletic and that the proposed genera are not reciprocally monophyletic, Apodemus is retained as a single genus here pending more integrative taxonomic research
Citation: Ge, D., Feijó, A., Cheng, J., Lu, L., Liu, R., Abramov, A. V., ... & Yang, Q. (2019). Evolutionary history of field mice (Murinae: Apodemus), with emphasis on morphological variation among species in China and description of a new species. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 187(2), 518-534.|Mezhzherin, S., & Tereshchenko, V. (2023). Taxonomic Hierarchy and Evolutionary Scenario of the Genus Group Apodemus sl (Muridae) of the Palearctic based of Genetic Differentiation in the cyt-b Gene. Zoodiversity, 57(1), 1-12.
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