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Chaetodipus eremicus

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Chihuahuan Desert Pocket Mouse
(Chaetodipus eremicus)
Range
Taxonomic classification
Order:Rodentia
Suborder:Supramyomorpha
Infraorder:Castorimorphi
Family:Heteromyidae
Subfamily:Perognathinae
Genus:Chaetodipus
Binomial details
Chaetodipus eremicus (Mearns, 1898)

Description

From Mantooth & Best (2005): Chaetodipus eremicus is a medium-sized pocket mouse with a long, heavily crested, tufted tail. Ventral pelage and tail, including tuft, are white. Pelage is coarse with numerous thin, elongate rump hairs (not spines) that are dark dorsally and light laterally. Dorsal pelage is buff and sprinkled with black, making this area appear brown or grayish. Pelage on sides resembles back and lateral lines are not present (Davis and Schmidly 1994; Yancey 1997)."

From Schmidly & Bradley (2016): "A medium-sized pocket mouse with long, heavily crested and tufted tail; pelage coarse but lacking spines on rump; sole of hind foot naked to heel; upperparts vinaceous buff finely sprinkled with black, imparting a grayish tone; sides like back; no lateral line; underparts and tail to tuft white."

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
not reported Ceballos (editor, 2014) 147–179 77–98 21–25 7–8 13–19
Texas Schmidly & Bradley (2016) 205 109 25 15–23
Texas (Brewster County) Manning et al. (1996); mass from Davis & Schmidly (1994) 174.8 (n=34) 93.4 (n=34) 21.8 (n=38) 7.8 (n=38) 15.0–23
Texas (Trans-Pecos region) Wilkins & Schmidly (1979) 169.55 (n=74 males and 45 females) 92.61 (n=74 males and 45 females) 21.79 (n=74 males and 45 females) 7.38 (n=74 males and 45 females)


Color variation

This section shows some of the color variation present in Chaetodipus eremicus. The location is provided for reference only. The individual shown does not necessarily represent the only color variant within the local population.

Skull

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Image(s) coming soon. We are currently imaging this skull.

Similar species

From CMDBS (2008): "Chaetodipus intermedius and C. collis (formerly C. nelsoni in Texas) are both rock-dwelling pocket mice and are very similar in characteristics. Both have rump spines, but these may not be evident at some times. The restriction to rocky situations will usually separate these two species from C. penicillatus and C. eremicus (very strongly limited to non-rocky areas) and from C. hispidus, which usually is in medium to tall grass or tall annual forbs in areas of friable soil. The size of C. baileyi, larger than the others, usually will be enough to identify it; additionally, it, C. penicillatus, and C. eremicus lack rump spines."

From Mantooth & Best (2005): "Chaetodipus eremicus is generally smaller than C. nelsoni [now C. collis] and closer in size to C. intermedius, but C. eremicus lacks rump spines. C. eremicus does have thin, elongate rump hairs, absent in both C. nelsoni [now C. collis] and C. intermedius (Davis and Schmidly 1994; Wilkins and Schmidly 1979). Overall length of C. eremicus is usually <180 mm (Wilkins and Schmidly 1979; Yancey 1997), compared with >180 mm total length for C. nelsoni (Davis and Schmidly 1994). Sole of hind foot is pale pink or white and naked to heel, distinguishing C. eremicus from C. intermedius, which has a dusky-colored sole on hind foot (Bailey 1931)."

Species Size Pelage appearance Postauricular patch Subaruicular spot Antitragus Tail bicolored Tail crest Tail tuft Rump spines Lateral lines Lateral line color
Chaetodipus collis medium coarse absent when present, it is very small lobed distinctly or indistinctly present present present present ochraceous-buff, fawn-colored
Chaetodipus eremicus medium somewhat soft present absent lobed distinctly present present absent present; poorly defined yellowish to ochraceous
Chaetodipus hispidus large coarse and hispid absent absent lobed distinctly absent absent absent present; wide ochraceous
Chaetodipus intermedius small to medium coarse absent absent lobed distinctly present present present; may be difficult to detect absent -
Perognathus flavescens small to medium smooth present; small, clear buff absent absent indistinctly absent absent absent present; clear buff dark ochraceous to pale yellowish
Perognathus flavus small smooth present; buff present; white or buff absent no absent absent absent present; may be indistinct, buff buff or ochraceous
Perognathus merriami small smooth present; clear buff present; white absent indistinctly absent absent absent faint

References

Bailey V. 1931. Mammals of New Mexico. North American Fauna 53. US Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Biological Survey.

Centennial Museum and Department of Biological Sciences (CMDBS). 2008. Heteromyidae—Pocket Mice and Kangaroo Rats, The University of Texas at El Paso. [accessed 20 July 2024]. http://museum2.utep.edu/mammalogy/taxa/heteromyidae.htm

Davis WB, Schmidly DJ. 1994. The mammals of Texas. Nongame and Urban Program. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Austin.

Mantooth SJ, Best TL. 2005. Chaetodipus eremicus. Mammalian Species 2005(768):1-3.

Schmidly DJ, Bradley RD. 2016. The mammals of Texas. Austin (TX, USA): University of Texas Press.

Wilkins KT, Schmidly DJ. 1979. Identification and distribution of three species of pocket mice (genus Perognathus) in Trans-Pecos Texas. The Southwestern Naturalist, 17-31.

Yancey FD. 1997. The Mammals of the Big Bend Ranch State Park, Texas. Special Publications Museum of Texas Tech University 39:1–210.

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