House mouse
Mus musculus Linnaeus, 1758
The house mouse (Mus musculus), also called the Eurasian house mouse, is a small rodent in the family Muridae, subfamily Murinae, order Rodentia. It is a nocturnal, terrestrial herbivore of grassland, with an adult body mass of 16.25 g and reported values from 15.3 to 20.5 g.
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Quick facts about the house mouse
Its lifespan is 5 years, with values up to 6 years reported; the IUCN lists it as Least Concern, and checklists record it in Australia.
- Weight
- 15.3 g – 20.5 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 5 years – 6 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- grasslandsrc for Habitat
- Gestation
- 19.6 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 6.07src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 42 days – 53.4 dayssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 4.57src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- 1 countrysrc for Countries on record
Photos of the house mouse
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the house mouse live?
Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.
The house mouse is listed for 1 country.
- Listed
- Not listed
The same countries as a list
Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.
What is the house mouse?
The house mouse (Mus musculus) is a small mammal of the rodent family Muridae, characteristically having a pointed snout, large rounded ears, and a long and almost hairless tail. It is one of the most abundant species of the genus Mus. Although a wild animal, the house mouse has benefited significantly from associating with human habitation to the point that truly wild populations are significantly less common than the synanthropic populations near human activity.
The house mouse has been domesticated as the pet or fancy mouse, and as the laboratory mouse, which is one of the most important model organisms in biology and medicine. The complete mouse reference genome was sequenced in 2002.
From the Wikipedia article “House mouse” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=House_mouse&oldid=1384713940), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the house mouse sound like?
Is the house mouse endangered?
The house mouse is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the house mouse classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderRodentia
- familyMuridae
- genusMus
- SpeciesMus musculus Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms Mus albertisii, Mus albula, Mus bactrianus tantillus, Mus commissarius, Mus gilvus, Mus molossinus, Mus molossinus utsuryonis, Mus molossinus yonakuni, Mus muscularus, Mus musculus amurensis, Mus musculus ater, Mus musculus cinereomaculatus, Mus musculus hanuma, Mus musculus helgolandicus, Mus musculus manei, Mus musculus microdontoides, Mus musculus mohri, Mus musculus molossinus, Mus musculus musculus, Mus musculus mystacinus, Mus musculus nov, Mus musculus rufiventris, Mus musculus skaleh-peninsularis, Mus musculus synanthropus, Mus musculus takagii, Mus musculus utsuryonis, Mus musculus utsuryonis, Mus musculus var. nudo-plicatus, Mus musculus varius, Mus musculus yamashiani, Mus musculus yonakuni, Mus nordmanni, Mus peruvianus, Mus solymarensis, Mus takagii, Mus varius, Mus vignaudii, Mus wagneri var. rotans
Other names and names in other languages (100)
- Eurasian house mouseEnglish
- AkuraAkan
- فأر المنازلArabic
- নিগনিAssamese
- Ev siçanıAzerbaijani
- HaiselmausBavarian
- Мыш дамаваяBelarusian
- Домашна мишкаBulgarian
- ঘর নেংটি ইঁদুরBangla
- aluazbnn
- LogodennBreton
- Ratolí comúCatalan
- Ratolí domèsticCatalan
- Кил-çурт шăшийĕChuvash
- myš domácíCzech
- Domôcô mëszKashubian
- Llygod BachWelsh
- Llygoden FachWelsh
- Llygoden y tŷWelsh
- Lys HusmusDanish
- HusmusDanish
- HausmausGerman
- Σπιτικός ποντικόςGreek
- Ratón CaseroSpanish
- BigañueloSpanish
- Laucha domésticaSpanish
- RatónSpanish
- Ratón casero eurasiáticoSpanish
- koduhiirEstonian
- Sagu arruntBasque
- موش خانگیPersian
- HiiriFinnish
- kotihiiriFinnish
- EystanmúsFaroese
- Souris griseFrench
- souris communeFrench
- Souris domestiqueFrench
- HúsmûsWestern Frisian
- Luch thíIrish
- Souritgcf
- luchScottish Gaelic
- luchanScottish Gaelic
- Rato domésticoGalician
- עכבר מצויHebrew
- עכברHebrew
- Pö̀ösahop
- Domaći mišCroatian
- házi egérHungarian
- MencitIndonesian
- AviŋŋaqInupiaq
- HúsamúsIcelandic
- Topo domesticoItalian
- Topolino delle caseItalian
- 鼷Japanese
- ハツカネズミJapanese
- 二十日鼠Japanese
- 廿日鼠Japanese
- სახლის თაგვიGeorgian
- A̱ga̱zang maliTyap
- ҚаптесерKazakh
- Үй тышқаныKazakh
- 생쥐Korean
- belidedemidldn
- Naminė pelėLithuanian
- mājas peleLatvian
- KioreMāori
- PoreraruaMāori
- Гэрийн хулганаMongolian
- Mencit rumahMalay
- RatoMirandese
- MuusLow German
- HuismuisDutch
- RatonPapiamento
- Mysz domowaPolish
- GiariPiedmontese
- CatitoPortuguese
- camundongo-domésticoPortuguese
- Catita-domésticaPortuguese
- Ratinho-caseiroPortuguese
- rato-domésticoPortuguese
- Wasi ukuchaQuechua
- Домовая мышьRussian
- Hoose mooseScots
- viessosáhpánNorthern Sami
- myš domováSlovak
- Hišna mišSlovenian
- DooliSomali
- Кућни мишSerbian
- SorigheSardinian
- หนูหริ่งบ้านThai
- Ev FaresiTurkish
- ШырUdmurt
- Миша хатняUkrainian
- گھریلو چوہاUrdu
- SorzoVenetian
- Hir’Veps
- Chuột nhàVietnamese
- 小鼠Chinese
- 家鼷鼠Chinese
- 小家鼠Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the house mouse
Other species in the same genus Mus.
Pygmy mouse
Mus minutoides
Steppe mouse
Mus spicilegus
Common Indian field mouse
Mus booduga
Macedonian mouse
Mus macedonicus
Algerian mouse
Mus spretus
Ryukyu mouse
Mus caroli
CompareHouse mouse vs Pygmy mouseHouse mouse vs Steppe mouseHouse mouse vs Common Indian field mouseHouse mouse vs Macedonian mouse
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the house mouse?
The house mouse is a rodent, a mammal in the order Rodentia and the family Muridae.
How much does a house mouse weigh?
An adult house mouse weighs 16.25 g, with reported values from 15.3 to 20.5 g.
What does the house mouse eat?
The house mouse is a herbivore.
Is the house mouse endangered?
No. The house mouse is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does a house mouse live?
The house mouse has a lifespan of 5 years, with values up to 6 years reported.
How many young does a house mouse have?
A house mouse has 6 young per litter and 4.6 litters per year, after a gestation of 19.6 days.
Who named the house mouse?
The house mouse, Mus musculus, was named by Linnaeus, 1758.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). House mouse (Mus musculus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/house-mouse
“House mouse (Mus musculus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/house-mouse.
@misc{house_mouse_2026,
title = {House mouse (Mus musculus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/house-mouse},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}