YELLOW-NECKED MOUSE Apodemus flavicollis
STATUS: Unknown

Yellow-necked mouse

Native, but the only confirmed records in the county are from Neolithic deposits at Dowel Cave in the White Peak, south of Buxton. There are Roman era records from Manchester and from Ossom’s Eyrie in the Staffordshire Peak District (Yalden 1999) so they may have also occurred in Derbyshire in that era. No specimens have been obtained to confirm recent presence in the county. A 1947 record from Longdendale is considered doubtful (Whiteley and Yalden 1976). Despite considerable trapping effort during the 1998 National Yellow-necked Mouse Survey, no evidence of its presence was found in Cheshire, where there are older records. Currently the nearest known colonies are in central and south Staffordshire and Shropshire.

Species identification information

Photo: Mick Hoult