pocket mouse
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What is a pocket mouse?
A pocket mouse is any of 36 species of American rodents with fur-lined pouches outside their mouths used to store food while foraging, especially seeds. They do not hop like the related kangaroo mouse but travel on all four limbs.
Pocket mice are nocturnal and usually live alone. They eat seeds, nuts, and succulent plants, which they carry in their cheek pouches to store in burrows. Most pocket mice are active year-round, though some become inactive in burrows during the winter or hot summer days but do not hibernate.
There are several types of pocket mice, including silky pocket mice, coarse-haired pocket mice, spiny pocket mice, and forest spiny pocket mice.
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Where do pocket mice live?
Pocket mice are American rodents with fur-lined cheek pouches for storing food. They are nocturnal and solitary animals that eat seeds, nuts, and succulent plants.
Pocket mice live in various habitats across North America. Silky and coarse-haired pocket mice inhabit open desert country from western Canada and the United States into southern Mexico. Spiny pocket mice are mostly found in Mexico southward to Panama, with some in extreme southern Texas, living in semiarid, brushy, and rocky habitats. Forest pocket mice reside from southern Mexico to northern South America, from sea level up into mountains. The sand pocket mouse can be found in the Arizona desert.
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What do pocket mice eat?
Pocket mice are nocturnal, solitary rodents that use fur-lined cheek pouches to store food while foraging. They eat seeds, nuts, and succulent plant parts, which they carry in their cheek pouches to hoard in burrows. Most pocket mice are active year-round, though some will stay in their burrows during the winter or on hot summer days, becoming torpid but not hibernating. While some species of rodents are herbivorous, most rodent diets include both vegetable and animal matter.
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How do pocket mice survive in desert environments?
Pocket mice have fur-lined external cheek pouches to store food, especially seeds. They are nocturnal and eat seeds, succulent plants, and nuts, carrying food in their cheek pouches to hoard in burrows. Some pocket mice survive in the desert by remaining in burrows during winter or hot summer days and may become torpid but do not hibernate. Kangaroo mice, which are related to pocket mice, further reduce their water needs by producing concentrated urine and dry feces. They do not need to drink water; instead, they obtain what they require from seeds and the occasional insect.
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What physical features help pocket mice live underground?
Pocket mice are nocturnal burrowing rodents that live in arid parts of western North America. They have fur-lined cheek pouches for storing food, especially seeds, which they carry to hoard in their burrows. While some pocket mice are active all year, others remain in burrows during winter or hot summer days and may become torpid but do not hibernate.
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How are pocket mice different from other types of mice and rodents?
Pocket mice, from the family Heteromyidae, are different from other rodents because they have fur-lined cheek pouches outside their mouths, which they use to store food while foraging. They gather seeds, nuts, and plant parts, and carry them in their pouches to hoard in burrows.
Pocket mice are quadrupedal, like "true" mice, meaning they move on all four limbs along the ground, unlike their relatives, the kangaroo mice, which hop. They are nocturnal and generally live alone. While some pocket mice stay active all year, others in colder climates or hot, arid environments may become inactive in winter or during hot summer days.
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pocket mouse, any of 36 species of American rodents having fur-lined external cheek pouches that open alongside the mouth. The pouches are used for storing food, particularly seeds, as the animal forages. Like “true” mice and rats (family Muridae), pocket mice travel on all four limbs along the ground, as opposed to hopping like their relative, the kangaroo mouse. Pocket mice are nocturnal and usually solitary. They eat seeds, succulent plant parts, and nuts, carrying food (mainly seeds) in their cheek pouches to hoard in burrows. Most are active all year, even some of those living at northern latitudes. Others remain in burrows during winter or on hot days in summer; they may become torpid but do not hibernate.
Natural history
The nine species of silky pocket mice (genus Perognathus) are very small, weighing from 5 to 30 grams (0.2 to 1.1 ounces) and having a body length of 6 to 9 cm (2.4 to 3.5 inches) and hairy tails 5 to 10 cm long. Silky pocket mice have soft fur ranging from yellowish to gray on the upperparts and white to buff on the underparts; soles of the hind feet are furry, but in all other pocket mice the soles are hairless.
The 15 species of coarse-haired pocket mice (genus Chaetodipus) are larger on average, weighing 15 to 47 grams and having a body length of 8 to 13 cm and hairy, tufted tails as long as or much longer than the body (up to 15 cm). Coarse-haired pocket mice are similar in colour to silky pocket mice, but the fur is harsh and the rump has spiny bristles. Silky and coarse-haired pocket mice range from western Canada and the United States into southern Mexico, where they inhabit open desert country.
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The five species of spiny pocket mice (genus Liomys) are found in extreme southern Texas, but they live mostly in Mexico southward to Panama in semiarid brushy and rocky habitats. These pocket mice weigh 34 to 50 grams and have a body length of 10 to 14 cm and long tails of up to 16 cm.
The seven species of forest spiny pocket mice (genus Heteromys) are the largest, weighing from 37 to 85 grams and having 11- to 18-cm bodies and long scantily haired tails. Forest pocket mice range from southern Mexico to northern South America, where they live from sea level upward into mountains. All the spiny pocket mice have harsh fur made up of stiff, bristly hairs that may be gray, reddish brown, dark brown, or glossy black. In some species a rust-coloured strip separates upperparts and underparts.
Classification and paleontology
Pocket mice are classified in the family Heteromyidae, meaning “different mouse,” or “other mouse,” in Greek. This family also includes kangaroo rats and kangaroo mice. Within Heteromyidae, the silky and coarse-haired pocket mice constitute the subfamily Perognathinae, and the spiny pocket mice constitute the subfamily Heteromyinae. Spiny pocket mice are more ratlike and probably bear a closer structural resemblance to the family’s extinct fossil ancestors than do any other living members.
- Subfamily Perognathinae
- 24 in 2 genera.
- Genus Chaetodipus (coarse-haired pocket mice)
- 15 species.
- Genus Perognathus (silky pocket mice)
- 9 species.
- Subfamily Heteromyinae
- 12 species in 2 genera.
- Genus Heteromys (forest spiny pocket mice)
- 7 species.
- Genus Liomys (spiny pocket mice)
- 5 species.