THE ANIMAL FILES

House mouse

Mus musculus

A mouse can read a nearby surface with its whiskers.

House mice combine smell, touch and vision while moving through sheltered spaces near food. They often become active around dusk or at night. Their senses are not smaller copies of ours: whiskers detect surfaces and air movement, while their colour vision differs from human vision.[1]

Follow the evidence ↓
House mouse
Image: Dion Art · Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Touch
Whiskers sense surfaces and air movement[1]
Colour vision
Two main cone types rather than the human three[1]
Food
Omnivorous, with much plant material[1]

Whiskers along a route

Whiskers can contact surfaces and respond to air movement. These tactile signals are useful as mice move close to boundaries, a tendency called thigmotaxis. The tail can provide extra support when a mouse rises onto its hind legs to inspect its surroundings or handle food. Much exploration happens close to the body rather than across a distant view.[1]

A different colour world

House mice are dichromats, with two types of cone cells, whereas humans typically have three. Their retinas include ultraviolet-sensitive cones. This supports a difference in colour sensitivity, not the claim that mice see no colour at all. Some functions of the retinal distribution remain unresolved.[1]

Scent left behind

Urine and other secretions carry chemical signals used in social communication. A mouse can encounter these after another individual has moved away. Nests are assembled from soft materials in concealed places near food, and plant material forms much of the diet, supplemented by other foods.[1]

A COMMON MIX-UP

Do mice see only in black and white?

No. Their two-cone system supports colour sensitivity different from typical human vision.[1]

TRY A LITTLE REASONING

How can whiskers help a mouse moving through a narrow gap?

Reveal the explanation

Whiskers detect contact with nearby surfaces and local air movement, giving the mouse information about the space around it as it moves through a narrow gap.[1]

Sources & editorial notes

Adapted and translated from the cited Wikipedia revisions, with source-linked reasoning. Image credit and licence are listed separately above.

Adapted and translated from Wikipedia contributors; exact revisions are linked below. CC BY-SA 4.0

  1. Wikipedia contributors — Mus musculus (adapted and translated; exact revision)
  2. NCBI Taxonomy — Mus musculus (identity and game lineage)

Last fact check:

One discovery leads to another

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