How many species of mice are there? - briefly
There are roughly 30 recognized species in the genus Mus, and when mouse-like rodents from related genera are counted, the total rises to about 70–80 species worldwide.
How many species of mice are there? - in detail
The total count of recognized mouse species varies with taxonomic interpretation. In strict scientific usage, “mouse” refers primarily to members of the genus Mus, which contains about ten extant species distributed across Europe, Asia, and Africa. When the term is broadened to include all small murine rodents commonly called mice, the number rises sharply. The subfamily Murinae, which houses the majority of mouse-like taxa, comprises roughly 150 genera and more than 600 species. Within this subfamily, several genera are regularly identified as mice:
- Mus – ~10 species (e.g., M. musculus, M. spretus)
- Apodemus – ~20 species (e.g., A. sylvaticus, A. flavicollis)
- Peromyscus – ~50 species (North American deer mice)
- Rattus – includes a few species termed “house mice” in certain regions
- Micromys – monotypic, M. minutus (harvest mouse)
- Pseudomys – ~30 Australian species referred to as “native mice”
Adding these groups yields an estimated 100 – 150 distinct mouse species worldwide. Recent molecular phylogenies continue to refine these figures, occasionally splitting or merging taxa as genetic evidence accumulates. Consequently, the most reliable current estimate places the global diversity of mouse-like rodents between one hundred and one hundred fifty species, with the core genus Mus accounting for only a small fraction of that total.