# Wood mouse (*Apodemus sylvaticus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/wood-mouse  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) is a small rodent in the family Muridae, subfamily Murinae, within the order Rodentia of the mammals. It is a nocturnal, terrestrial herbivore with an adult body mass of 30.45 g. Gestation lasts 23.44 days, litters average 5.18 young, there are 3.8 litters per year, and sexual maturity comes at 68 days. Its lifespan is 4.4 years, with values up to 6.3 years reported, and the IUCN Red List classes it as Least Concern, not a threatened category.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 23.4 g – 30.5 g |
| Length | 9 cm |
| Lifespan | 4.4 years |
| Diet | Herbivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 6.33 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | Not recorded |
| Gestation | 23.4 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 5.18 |
| Age at maturity | 65 days – 71 days |
| Litters or clutches a year | 3.8 |
| Active | At night (nocturnal) |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Rodentia
- family: Muridae
- genus: Apodemus
- species: *Apodemus sylvaticus* (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms: *Apodemus alpinus*, *Apodemus bergensis*, *Apodemus butei*, *Apodemus callipides*, *Apodemus celticus*, *Apodemus creticus*, *Apodemus cumbrae*, *Apodemus fiolagan*, *Apodemus flaviventris*, *Apodemus fridariensis grantii*, *Apodemus fridariensis thuleo*, *Apodemus ghia*, *Apodemus hebridensis*, *Apodemus hebridensis cumbrae*, *Apodemus hebridensis fiolagan*, *Apodemus hebridensis ghia*, *Apodemus hebridensis hamiltoni*, *Apodemus hebridensis larus*, *Apodemus hebridensis maclean*, *Apodemus hebridensis nesiticus*, *Apodemus hebridensis tirae*, *Apodemus hebridensis tural*, *Apodemus hirtensis*, *Apodemus intermedius*, *Apodemus islandicus*, *Apodemus krkensis*, *Apodemus larus*, *Apodemus sylvaticus butei*, *Apodemus sylvaticus clanceyi*, *Apodemus sylvaticus creticus*, *Apodemus sylvaticus dichruoides*, *Apodemus sylvaticus falzefeini*, *Apodemus sylvaticus grandiculus*, *Apodemus sylvaticus hermani*, *Apodemus sylvaticus hessei*, *Apodemus sylvaticus iconicus*, *Apodemus sylvaticus ilvanus*, *Apodemus sylvaticus kilikiae*, *Apodemus sylvaticus maximus*, *Apodemus sylvaticus milleri*, *Apodemus sylvaticus spadix*, *Apodemus tirae*, *Apodemus tural*, *Apodemus vulgaris*, *Micromys sylvaticus callipides*, *Mus algirus*, *Mus chamaeropsis*, *Mus hayi*, *Mus hebridensis*, *Mus hirtensis*, *Mus intermedius*, *Mus islandicus*, *Mus pecchioli*, *Mus reboudia*, *Mus sylvaticus*, *Mus sylvaticus albus*, *Mus sylvaticus alpinus*, *Mus sylvaticus bergensis*, *Mus sylvaticus candidus*, *Mus sylvaticus celticus*, *Mus sylvaticus flavobrunneus*, *Mus sylvaticus fridariensis*, *Mus sylvaticus griseus*, *Mus sylvaticus isabellinus*, *Mus sylvaticus leucocephalus*, *Mus sylvaticus niger*, *Mus sylvaticus parvus*, *Mus sylvaticus varius*, *Musculus dichrurus*, *Sylvaemus sylvaticus flaviventris*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the wood mouse?

The wood mouse is a small rodent in the family Muridae, a mammal of the order Rodentia.

### How heavy is a wood mouse?

An adult wood mouse has a body mass of 30.45 g.

### What does the wood mouse eat?

The wood mouse is a herbivore.

### How long does a wood mouse live?

The wood mouse has a lifespan of 4.4 years, with values up to 6.3 years reported.

### How many young does a wood mouse have?

A wood mouse litter averages 5.18 young, with 3.8 litters per year after a gestation of 23.44 days.

### When does a wood mouse reach sexual maturity?

A wood mouse reaches sexual maturity at 68 days, with reported values from 65 to 71 days.

### Is the wood mouse endangered?

No. The wood mouse is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), 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](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), 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](https://commons.wikimedia.org), 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](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1), 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](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), 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).

Cite as: Wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/wood-mouse