Viking Mice?

Jeremy Searle (Cornell University) has produced strong evidence, adding to a belief that the Vikings occupied the Azores, well before the arrival of the Portughese in 1427 (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/31/did-vikings-and-their-stowaway-mice-beat-portugal-to-the-azores). Searle found that wild House mice on the Azores, had a high incidence of a particular mitochondrial DNA line found in the mouse populations of Orkney, Caithness, the Hebrides (Scotland); the Isle of Man and parts of Ireland. The same line was uncommon in House mice on mainland Portugal. Mitochondrial DNA is passed through the female line, enabling scientists to determine the lineages of animals. There is clear archeological evidence that the Vikings colonised Orkney, Caithness, the Hebrides; the Isle of Man and parts of Ireland. It is highly probable that House mice from Scandinavia stowed away on the Viking longships to reach these locations. The mitochondrial DNA of Azores House mice, suggests they reached these remote islands in the same way.