Chaetodipus hispidus

Hispid Pocket Mouse
(*Chaetodipus hispidus*)
Hispid Pocket Mouse (Chaetodipus hispidus)
Range
Taxonomic classification
Order:	Rodentia
Suborder:	Supramyomorpha
Infraorder:	Castorimorphi
Superfamily:	Geomyoidea
Family:	Heteromyidae
Subfamily:	Perognathinae
Genus:	Chaetodipus
Binomial details
	Chaetodipus hispidus (S. F. Baird, 1857)
Other resources
	Full taxonomic details at MDD

The Hispid Pocket Mouse (Chaetodipus hispidus) is a large pocket mouse with a dorsal coloration that ranges from yellowish to reddish brown. It is found in a variety of arid grassland habitats.

Description

From Paulson (1988): "The pelage is harsh; upper parts 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) for Colorado: "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."

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." The ear has a lobed antitragus (a small, rounded piece of projecting cartilage on the lower part of the ear).

Museum type specimens

The holotype of species (USNM 577) is located at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and images are available, but not shown here. The holotype for the subspecies paradoxus is shown below as that specimen is in better condition.

Holotype: USNM 186513. Chaetodipus hispidus paradoxus. Adult female. Banner, Trego County, Kansas. Collected 14, April 1884. Dorsal view.
Holotype: USNM 186513. Chaetodipus hispidus paradoxus. Adult female. Banner, Trego County, Kansas. Collected 14, April 1884. Ventral view.

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."

From Hoffmeister (1986): "skull large but mastoid bulla relatively short and uninflated; interparietal especially long and wide..."

The holotype of species (USNM 577) is located at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and images are available, but not shown here. The holotype for the subspecies paradoxus is shown below as that specimen is in better condition.

Holotype: USNM 186513. Chaetodipus hispidus paradoxus. Adult female. Banner, Trego County, Kansas. Collected 14, April 1884. Dorsal view of the skull.
Holotype: USNM 186513. Chaetodipus hispidus paradoxus. Arrows identify the interorbital width. The interparietal bone is colored yellow.
Holotype: USNM 186513. Chaetodipus hispidus paradoxus. Adult female. Banner, Trego County, Kansas. Collected 14, April 1884. Ventral view of the skull.
Holotype: USNM 186513. Chaetodipus hispidus paradoxus. Adult female. Banner, Trego County, Kansas. Collected 14, April 1884. Lateral view of the skull.
Holotype: USNM 186513. Chaetodipus hispidus paradoxus. Adult female. Banner, Trego County, Kansas. Collected 14, April 1884. Dorsal view of the mandible.
Holotype: USNM 186513. Chaetodipus hispidus paradoxus. Adult female. Banner, Trego County, Kansas. Collected 14, April 1884. Lateral view of the left mandible.
Holotype: USNM 186513. Chaetodipus hispidus paradoxus. Upper molars shown.
Holotype: USNM 186513. Chaetodipus hispidus paradoxus. Lower molars shown.

Similar species

In the USA, Chaetodipus hispidus is sympatric with the following species of pocket mice: Bailey's Pocket Mouse (Chaetodipus baileyi), Highland Coarse-haired Pocket Mouse (Chaetodipus collis), Chihuahuan Desert Pocket Mouse (Chaetodipus eremicus), Rock Pocket Mouse (Chaetodipus intermedius), Desert Pocket Mouse (Chaetodipus penicillatus), Arizona Pocket Mouse (Perognathus amplus), Silky Pocket Mouse (Perognathus flavus), Olive-backed Pocket Mouse (Perognathus fasciatus), Plains Pocket Mouse (Perognathus flavescens), and Merriam's Pocket Mouse (Perognathus merriami). 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 non-crested 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 [Heteromys] irroratus has coarser pelage, is dark gray dorsally, and lacks the grooved upper incisors of pocket mice."

Hispid Pocket Mouse (Chaetodipus hispidus). Dorsal coloration generally ranges from yellowish to reddish-buff. There is a conspicuous buff to ochraceous lateral stripe.
Bailey's Pocket Mouse (Chaetodipus baileyi). The upper pelage is gray-brown with varying degrees of yellow wash.
Rock Pocket Mouse (Chaetodipus intermedius). Dorsal coloration is highly variable in this species and depends largely on the color of the substrate, ranging from pale brown to brownish-black to black. Rump spines are present but may be difficult to detect.
Desert Pocket Mouse (Chaetodipus penicillatus). Dorsal coloration ranges from gray to yellowish-brown to pinkish-brown.
Plains Pocket Mouse (Perognathus flavescens). Dorsal coloration ranges from buff to yellowish or reddish, with a variable dorsal wash of black hairs. The ears of this species lack a lobed antitragus.
Silky Pocket Mouse (Perognathus flavus). Dorsal coloration typically ranges from yellowish-brown to pinkish-brown to grayish-brown. The ears of this species lack a lobed antitragus.

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.