The decay of a dead House Mouse (Mus musculus) hold mouse cursor on picture for more info and click to enlarge
On July 16th 2009 I found a dead little mouse. I placed it in our garden and took photographs on a regular basis. The last photo was taken 50 days later on
September 5th. On some pictures, like that of day 7, small brown balls can be seen on the ground beside the mouse. These are bulbils ('brood tubercles') of
Lesser Celandine (Ranunculus ficaria, Speenkruid in Dutch). These small bulbs are formed in the 'armpits' of the stalks, so that's above ground. They
fall off when the plant dies and spread by rain and wind.
There are a lot of other details to watch on the pictures as well. Like the tiny wasp on the picture of day three. The snale may catch the eye, but it's not
there alone.
