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mouse, name applied to numerous species of small rodents, often having soft gray or brown fur, long hairless tails, and large ears. The chief distinction between these animals and the variety of rodents called rats is in size: mice are usually smaller. Many small rodents are adapted for leaping or hopping and are named accordingly, e.g., the North American kangaroo rat and Asian jumping mouse.

Types of Mice

Most, but not all, of the rodents called mice are members of the rodent subclass Myomorpha, or mouselike rodents. The approximately 1,100 species in this enormous group are classified in several families. The Old World family Muridae includes the now ubiquitous house mouse, as well as a great variety of wild-living Old World species, including the Old World field mouse, the tiny European harvest mouse (Micromys minutus) and the African tree mice. The cosmopolitan family Cricetidae includes the native New World mice, such as the deer mouse, American harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys), the carnivorous grasshopper mouse, the South American field mice, the pack rat, and the rice rat; it also includes the various Old and New World species of vole, hamster, lemming, muskrat, and gerbil. Still other families of the Myomorpha include the dormouse, jumping mouse, and jerboa. The pocket mouse and the kangaroo rats and mice are members of the suborder Sciuromorpha, or squirrellike rodents.

House Mouse

The house mouse, Mus musculus, found throughout the world, is the most familiar of the mice; many of its races live commensally with humans and are serious pests, while others live in the wild. It usually measures about 6 in. (15 cm) long and weighs under 1 oz (28 grams). It has gray to brown fur, large rounded ears, a pointed muzzle, and a naked scaley tail. An omnivorous feeder, it causes great destruction and contamination of food supplies. Its nests are built of available chewable materials, such as clothing and paper. It may carry human diseases, such as typhoid and spotted fever. Females produce litters of four to eight young after a gestation period of three weeks; under favorable conditions they breed throughout the year. The young mature in two months. House mice, particularly albino strains, are extensively used in biological and medical experimentation and are also sometimes kept as pets.

Field Mouse

Field mouse is a name applied to various wild-living mice in different parts of the world. The Old World field mice are species of the genus Apodemus, closely related to the house mouse and found throughout Eurasia and North Africa. The widely distributed long-tailed field mouse, Apodemus sylvaticus, is a nocturnal, burrowing creature that prefers succulent plant food and frequently invades gardens and houses. In North America the name field mouse (or meadow mouse) is applied to voles. South American field mice belong to the genus Akodon, with about sixty species distributed among a wide variety of habitats, including human dwellings. Most of these resemble long-tailed voles. The name tree mouse is likewise applied to various arboreal mice and voles in different parts of the world.

Classification

Mice are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Rodentia.

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mouse

House mouse (Mus musculus).

(credit: Ingmar Holmasen)

Any of many species (family Muridae) of small, scampering rodents. They are distinguished from rats principally by their smaller size. Mice are basically Asian in origin, but species have been introduced worldwide. Species in other rodent families (e.g., deer mouse, pocket mouse) are called mice without scientific basis. Mice eat grains, roots, fruit, grass, and insects. They can become pests but are mostly beneficial; they are the main prey of most furbearers and of predators that might otherwise take more valuable prey. The white laboratory mouse is a form of house mouse. See also field mouse.

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mouse

(credit: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.)

Hand-controlled electromechanical device for interacting with a digital computer that has a graphical user interface. The mouse can be moved around on a flat surface to control the movement of a cursor on the computer display screen. Equipped with one or more buttons, it can be used to select text, activate programs, or move items around the screen by quickly pressing and releasing one of the buttons (“clicking”) or by keeping a button depressed while moving the device (“clicking and dragging”).

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mouse

The most popular pointing device. Called a "mouse" because the cord resembled a mouse's tail, most mice today are cordless. Graphical interfaces (GUIs) are designed for mice but key commands for equivalent functions in business applications are often available as an alternative. However, CAD and imaging applications demand a pointing device. On a PC, the mouse connects to the PS/2 or USB port (see PS/2 connector).

After years of use, it is now known that mice can be hazardous to your health. Hours of clicking and dragging put a strain on the wrist (see carpal tunnel syndrome).

Relative Vs. Absolute
Mouse movement is relative. The cursor moves from its existing location. The mouse could be moved across your arm, and the screen cursor would move as well. The mouse-like object on a graphics tablet, which is correctly called the "tablet cursor" or "puck" is often not relative. It contacts the tablet with absolute reference. Placing it on the upper left part of the tablet moves the screen cursor to the corresponding location. See pointing device, scroll mouse, mechanical mouse, optical mouse, Magic Mouse and mickey.

The First Mouse

Invented by Doug Engelbart in the early 1960s at Stanford Research Institute (SRI), it used two moving wheels 90 degrees apart. Most mechanical mice were made this way, but the wheels were inside, and the ball moved the wheels. (Image courtesy of The Bootstrap Institute.)

One Size Does Not Fit All

Contour Design makes mice that come in many sizes for a perfect fit. They also put less strain on the "clicking finger." (Image courtesy of Contour Design, Inc., www.contourdesign.com)

A Variety of Critters

All kinds of mouse designs have come and gone over the years. (Image courtesy of Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), Brian Tramontana, Photographer.)

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mouse

1. any of numerous small long-tailed rodents of the families Muridae and Cricetidae that are similar to but smaller than rats

2. any of various related rodents, such as the jumping mouse

3. Computing a hand-held device used to control the cursor movement and select computing functions without keying

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mouse [mau̇s]

(computer science)

A small box-shaped device with wheels that is moved about by hand over a flat surface and generates signals to control the position of a cursor or pointer on a computer display.

(vertebrate zoology)

Any of various rodents which are members of the families Muridae, Heteromyidae, Cricetidae, and Zapodidae; characterized by a pointed snout, short ears, and an elongated body with a long, slender, sparsely haired tail.

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mouse, duck

A lead weight on a string; used to pull a sash cord over a sash pulley, to clear a blocked pipe, etc.

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1.		Mouse - A mighty small macro language developed by Peter Grogono in 1975. ["Mouse, A Language for Microcomputers", P. Grogono <grogono@concour.cs.concordia.ca> Petrocelli Books, 1983].
2.	(hardware, graphics)	mouse - The most commonly used computer pointing device, first introduced by Douglas Engelbart in 1968. The mouse is a device used to manipulate an on-screen pointer that's normally shaped like an arrow. With the mouse in hand, the computer user can select, move, and change items on the screen. A conventional roller-ball mouse is slid across the surface of the desk, often on a mouse mat. As the mouse moves, a ball set in a depression on the underside of the mouse rolls accordingly. The ball is also in contact with two small shafts set at right angles to each other inside the mouse. The rotating ball turns the shafts, and sensors inside the mouse measure the shafts' rotation. The distance and direction information from the sensors is then transmitted to the computer, usually through a connecting wire - the mouse's "tail". The computer then moves the mouse pointer on the screen to follow the movements of the mouse. This may be done directly by the graphics adaptor, but where it involves the processor the task should be assigned a high priority to avoid any perceptible delay. Some mice are contoured to fit the shape of a person's right hand, and some come in left-handed versions. Other mice are symmetrical. Included on the mouse are usually two or three buttons that the user may press, or click, to initiate various actions such as running programs or opening files. The left-most button (the primary mouse button) is operated with the index finger to select and activate objects represented on the screen. Different operating systems and graphical user interfaces have different conventions for using the other button(s). Typical operations include calling up a context-sensitive menu, modifying the selection, or pasting text. With fewer mouse buttons these require combinations of mouse and keyboard actions. Between its left and right buttons, a mouse may also have a wheel that can be used for scrolling or other special operations defined by the software. Some systems allow the mouse button assignments to be swapped round for left-handed users. Just moving the pointer across the screen with the mouse typically does nothing (though some CAD systems respond to patterns of mouse movement with no buttons pressed). Normally, the pointer is positioned over something on the screen (an icon or a menu item), and the user then clicks a mouse button to actually affect the screen display. The five most common "gestures" performed with the mouse are: point (to place the pointer over an on-screen item), click (to press and release a mouse button), double-click to press and release a mouse button twice in rapid succession, right-click (to press and release the right mouse button}, and drag (to hold down the mouse button while moving the mouse). Most modern computers include a mouse as standard equipment. However, some systems, especially portable laptop and notebook models, may have a trackball, touchpad or Trackpoint on or next to the keyboard. These input devices work like the mouse, but take less space and don't need a desk. Many other alternatives to the conventional roller-ball mouse exist. A tailless mouse, or hamster, transmits its information with infrared impulses. A foot-controlled mouse is one used on the floor underneath the desk. An optical mouse uses a light-emitting diode and photocells instead of a rolling ball to track its position. Some optical designs may require a special mouse mat marked with a grid, others, like the Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer, work on nearly any surface. Yahoo!. http://peripherals.about.com/library/weekly/aa041498.htm. PC Guide's "Troubleshooting Mice".