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Chaetodipus californicus

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California Pocket Mouse
(Chaetodipus californicus)
Range
Taxonomic classification
Order:Rodentia
Suborder:Supramyomorpha
Infraorder:Castorimorphi
Family:Heteromyidae
Subfamily:Perognathinae
Genus:Chaetodipus
Binomial details
Chaetodipus californicus (Merriam, 1889)

Description

From Patton & Alvarez-Castañeda (1999): "This is among the largest species in the genus, along with C. baileyi and C. hispidus. It is characterized by a relatively long, strongly crested and pencillate tail; numerous stiff spines on the rump, sometimes extending to the sides; relatively long and square-tipped ear pinna; and relatively small mastoid bullae with a broad interparietal. The ratio of the length of the tail to head and body ranges from about 1.15 to 1.55; the ear is more than 10 mm in length (from the notch); and the width of the interparietal is usually greater that 8.1 mm. This species is typically dark, grizzled, reddish-brown, with a sharply evident buff-colored lateral line separating the dorsal pelage from the self-color white venter."

From Jameson & Peeters (2004): "A rather large pocket mouse with a mixture of yellow and black hairs dorsally and strong, spiny hairs on its sides and rump. The heel of the hind foot is naked. The ears are unusually long (9-14 mm)."

  • Arrows point to a few of the many rump spines of Chaetodipus californicus.
  • The ears of Chaetodipus californicus are more square-topped (as the black lines attempt to show) as opposed to rounded. Original image by Boaz Benaiah Solorio.

External measurements

Length measurements are in millimeters (mm) and weight measurements are in grams (g), unless stated otherwise. If available, the sample size (n=) is provided. If a range is not provided and n= is not given, then the listed measurement represents an average.

Part of range Reference Total length Tail length Hindfoot length Ear length Mass
California Jameson & Peeters (2004) 190–235 103–143 24–29 16–21
not reported Ceballos (editor, 2014) 190–235 103–143 24–29 9–14 16–21


Skull

From Jameson & Peeters (2004): "The auditory bullae are separated anteriorly. The interparietal bone is nearly twice as wide as it is long."

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Similar species

The presence of pronounced rump spines distinguishes Chaetodipus californicus from the Desert Pocket Mouse (Chaetodipus penicillatus), Peninsular Pocket Mouse (Chaetodipus rudinoris), and pocket mice in the genus Perognathus in the US. The presence of a well-marked lateral line distinguishes Chaetodipus californicus from the Spiny Pocket Mouse (Chaetodipus spinatus).

From Patton and Alvarez-Castañeda (1999) for comparison of C. californicus with the San Diego Pocket Mouse (Chaetodipus fallax) in California: C. fallax in California "really only needs comparison with C. californicus, with which it might be locally sympatric.... californicus is distinctly larger in size, with longer and obviously more square-topped as opposed to rounded ears."

Chaetodipus californicus
The Spiny Pocket Mouse (Chaetodipus spinatus) observed by Steger & Overson.
Species Size Pelage appearance Postauricular patch Subaruicular spot Antitragus Tail bicolored Tail crest Tail tuft Rump spines Lateral lines Lateral line color
Chaetodipus californicus medium to large coarse absent absent lobed distinctly present present present (and on flanks) present orangish-yellow
Chaetodipus formosus medium smooth absent present lobed distinctly or indistinctly present present absent absent -
Chaetodipus penicillatus medium smooth to coarse present; faint absent lobed distinctly present present absent faint or absent buff
Chaetodipus rudinoris large smooth absent when present, it is small lobed indistinctly present present absent present ochraceous
Chaetodipus spinatus medium to medium-large coarse absent preset lobed distinctly present present present faint or absent buff
Perognathus alticola medium smooth present; faint present; small lobed distinctly present absent absent faint
Perognathus inornatus small smooth indistinct, buffy absent absent indistinctly absent absent absent present pale yellowish
Perognathus longimembris small smooth present; faint when present, it is faint absent distinctly or indistinctly absent present absent absent or faint

References

Ceballos G, editor. 2014. Mammals of Mexico. Baltimore (MD, USA): Johns Hopkins University Press.

Jameson EW, Peeters HJ. 2004. Mammals of California (No. 66). Berkeley (CA, USA): University of California Press.

Merriam CH. 1889. Revision of the North American pocket mice. North American Fauna 1:1-29.

Patton JL, Alvarez-Castañeda ST, editors. 1999. Family Heteromyidae. Mamiferos del noroeste de México. La Paz (Baja California Sur, MX): Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste.

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