Viking mice marauders swept across northern Europe

"They didn't rape and pillage or wear horned helmets*, but Norwegian mice accidentally stowing away on Viking ships swept through almost as many countries as the fearsome humans whose ships they boarded.

That's the conclusion from an analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from modern house mice (Mus musculus domesticus) living on Iceland and Greenland, which was compared with mtDNA extracted from mouse skeletons on the islands dating to the Viking heyday, 1000 to 1200 years ago. The sequences were also compared with mtDNA sequences from Viking mice in Norway and the UK."
Read the full article at the New Scientist.

*Blog owner: The Vikings didn't wear horned helmets, either, thank you!