| House Mouse | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Information | |
| Range | Except Africa, Southern America and Polar Regions |
| Scientific Classification | |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Mammalia |
| Order | Rodentia |
| Family | Muridae |
| Genus | Mus |
| Species | M. Musculus |
The house mouse (Mus musculus) is a small mammal of the order Rodentia. The word "mouse" comes from Middle English mous which is from Old English mus which is descended from Proto-Germanic mūs which ultimately comes from Proto-Indo-European múh₂s meaning "mouse'. Although a wild animal the house mouse has benefited greatly from associating with human habitation to the point that truly wild populations are getting less and less common than the semi-tame populations near human habitation. The house mouse has been domesticated as a pet and as a laboratory mouse. The complete mouse reference genome was sequenced in 2002.
