![]() ![]() It has been found that there is little hoarding done in the winter but that food is most commonly stored in the autumn and spring. Most species store the seeds they gather in special chambers in the burrow where they absorb moisture from the humid air. This is because carrying the food in the mouth would involve wetting it and moisture needs to be conserved as much as possible in dry environments. They carry most of the seeds they find back to their burrows in exterior cheek folds lined with fur rather than in cheek pouches inside the mouth as do hamsters. Pocket mice are adapted for life in deserts and other arid environments where they largely feed on dry seeds. They are creatures of open country, mostly specialising in prairies, arid lands and desert fringes. Pocket mice are distributed from southwestern Canada through the western and Great Plains regions of the United States to central Mexico. The fur on the animal's body is in general short and fine and often matches in colour the soil of the region in which the animal lives, being some shade of buff, pale brown, reddish-brown or grey. They have openings near the mouth and extend backwards along the sides of the neck. įur-lined cheek pouches are a feature across the family Heteromyidae. The upper incisors are grooved and the enamel on the molars is quickly worn away by chewing leaving the dentine exposed. The dental formula is 1/1, 0/0, 1/1, 3/3 making twenty teeth in total. Adaptations include partially fused vertebrae in the neck, short fore limbs and much enlarged bullae (bubble-shaped bones in the skull). Note: All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate.There are about twenty-six members of the subfamily Perognathinae divided among two genera. Pocket Mouse scat on sand near a plant root fragment Long-tailed Pocket Mouse burrow plugged with dirt from inside Long-tailed Pocket Mouse tracks in soft sand Long-tailed Pocket Mouse burrows tend to go straight down Pelage is buffy-gray above, lighter below ![]() Note the long hairs on the top of the tail Note the pear-shape body form and long tail Pocket mice often move into the burrows of other animals (e.g., pocket gopher, kangaroo rat), and dig escape holes by burrowing upward from inside an existing tunnel. Notice that the hole goes straight down and that there is no evidence of a dirt mound. The tail is long and crested (longer hairs on the top of the tail). ![]() The reddish area between the arrows is her chin.Īrrows indicate the mouth (note the yellow rodent teeth) and the external, fur-lined cheek pouches. You won't see them because they are nocturnal, but their burrows give away their presence, and you might see them darting across desert roads at night.Īrrows indicate the external, fur-lined cheek pouches. Pocket Mice are common or abundant in the deserts and lower mountains around Las Vegas in the Lower Sonoran ( Creosote-Bursage Flats) and Upper Sonoran ( Pinyon-Juniper Woodland) life zones. The outside of their cheeks, similar to the pouch of an Australian kangaroo. MostĪnimals carry food in their mouth (e.g., dogs and cats) or inside theĬheeks ( chipmunks), but pocket mice actually have an extra pouch on To carry seeds and other food items to and from their burrows and seed caches. Like kangaroo rats, pocket mice have external, fur-lined cheek pouches that they use They have external, fur-lined cheek pouches run on all four feet and have a crest of long hairs on the top of the tail. ![]() The head and body are about 3-inches long, and the tail is 4-5 inches long. Small, buffy-gray mice with small ears a long, tufted tail and no other marks. General: Long-tailed Pocket Mice ( Chaetodipus formosus) are Long-tailed Pocket Mouse ( Chaetodipus formosus) Wildlife Around Las Vegas, Long-tailed Pocket Mouse (Chaetodipus formosus) ![]()
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