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Chaetodipus hispidus

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Hispid Pocket Mouse
(Chaetodipus hispidus)
Range
Taxonomic classification
Order:Rodentia
Suborder:Supramyomorpha
Infraorder:Castorimorphi
Family:Heteromyidae
Subfamily:Perognathinae
Genus:Chaetodipus
Binomial details
Chaetodipus hispidus (S. F. Baird, 1858)

Description

From Hoffmeister (1986): "A large species; head-body and tail of about equal length, and each about 100 mm; skull large but mastoid bulla relatively short and uninflated; interparietal especially long and wide; tail not bushy distally." Ear with a lobed antitragus.

From Paulson (1988): "The pelage is harsh; upper part s ochraceous mixed with black, venter whitish. In some regions the dorsal pelage has an olive tone (Schmidly, 1977). The tail is well haired, but not crested, with a black dorsal stripe, buffy sides, and white underside."

From Armstrong et al. (2010): "The hispid pocket mouse is the largest pocket mouse in Colorado. Adult fur is somewhat harsh to the touch and coarse in appearance relative to that of other pocket mice. Juveniles have much softer hair. Dorsal color is yellowish to reddish buff intermixed with black hairs. The sides are paler in color, shading to white on the venter. The scantily haired tail is dark above and pale below and lacks the conspicuous terminal tuft of kangaroo rats."

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
Colorado Armstrong et al. (2010) 200–260 95–126 25–29 11–13 40–70
Nebraska (western) Paulson (1988) 203–237 (n=10) 93–114 (n=10) 23.5–29.5 (n=10) 32.0 (n=7)
North Dakota Seabloom et al. (2020) 220 107 26 13 48
not reported Ceballos (editor, 2014) 152–230 72–113 22–29 10–13 15–60
Texas Schmidly & Bradley (2016) 198 93 24 30–47


Skull

From Armstrong et al. (2010): "The skull, although larger (condylobasal length usually more than 29 mm), is generally similar to that of other pocket mice. Incisors are conspicuously grooved."

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Similar species

From Paulson (1988): "Chaetodipus hispidus is larger (total length usually > 180 mm and length of hind foot usually > 22 mm) than most of the pocket mice with which it occurs; total length in Perognathus amplus, P. fasciatus, P. flavus, and P. flavescens is < 170 mm and length of hind foot is < 22 mm. C. hispidus differs from other Chaetodipus in having a noncrested tail equal to or shorter than the length of the head and body. Total length in C. intermedius usually is < 180 mm and length of hind foot is < 22 mm. The dorsal fur of C. hispidus is coarser, with more buff to ochraceous tones than that of the grayer C. baileyi. The conspicuous buff to ochraceous lateral stripe in C. hispidus is lacking in C. baileyi and C. penicillatus. The skull of C. hispidus has a conspicuous supraorbital bead, and the auditory bullae are less inflated than in other pocket mice with which it occurs. The similarly sized Liomys [Heteromys] irroratus has coarser pelage, is dark gray dorsally, and lacks the grooved upper incisors of pocket mice."

Species Size Pelage appearance Postauricular patch Subaruicular spot Antitragus Tail bicolored Tail crest Tail tuft Rump spines Lateral lines Lateral line color
Chaetodipus baileyi large coarse absent when present, it is small lobed indistinctly present present absent faint or absent buff
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 -
Chaetodipus penicillatus medium smooth to coarse present; faint absent lobed distinctly present present absent faint or absent buff
Perognathus amplus small smooth present; light-colored (not especially conspicuous) present; white absent distinctly (more or less) absent absent absent present buffy
Perognathus fasciatus small to medium smooth present: buffy present; white absent indistinctly absent absent absent present bright buffy to yellowish buff
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

Armstrong DM, Fitzgerald JP, Meaney CA. 2010. Mammals of Colorado, Second Edition. Denver (CO, USA): University Press of Colorado.

Baird SF. 1857. General Report upon the Zoology of the Several Pacific Railroad Routes. Part I. Mammals. A. P. Nicholson, Washington, 757 pp.

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

Hoffmeister DF. 1986. Mammals of Arizona. Tucson (AZ, USA): University of Arizona Press.

Paulson DD. 1988. Chaetodipus hispidus. Mammalian Species (320): 1-4.

Schmidly DJ. 1977. The mammals of Trans-Pecos Texas. College Station (TX, USA): Texas A&M University Press, 225 pp.

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

Seabloom R, Hoganson JW, Jensen WF. 2020. The mammals of North Dakota. Fargo (ND, USA): North Dakota State University Press.

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