Onychomys arenicola
| Chihuahuan Grasshopper Mouse
(Onychomys arenicola) | |
|---|---|
| Range | |
 | |
| Taxonomic classification | |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Suborder: | Supramyomorpha |
| Infraorder: | Myomorphi |
| Superfamily: | Muroidea |
| Family: | Cricetidae |
| Subfamily: | Neotominae |
| Tribe: | Onychomyini |
| Genus: | Onychomys |
| Binomial details | |
| Onychomys arenicola Mearns, 1896 | |
| Other resources | |
| Full taxonomic details at MDD | |
The Chihuahuan Grasshopper Mouse (Onychomys arenicola) is a small mouse with a short, fat tail. It inhabits low, arid, desert areas where vegetation is sparse and scattered (Schmidly and Bradley, 2016).
Description
From Schmidly & Bradley (2016): "A small, fat-tailed mouse with pinkish cinnamon or grayish buff upperparts and pure white underparts; usually a conspicuous white or grayish tuft at anterior base of ear; nose, cheeks, and sides white; tail sparsely haired, >30% of total length, 2–2.5 times as long as hind foot and distinctly bicolor, dark above and white below. Similar to O. leucogaster but smaller, with relatively longer tail and smaller teeth. Juveniles similar to adults but upperparts bluish gray."
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | Schmidly & Bradley (2016) | 146 | 52 | 21 | males: 26.5 (24-30); females: 25 (22–28) |
Skull
From Hoffmeister (1986) for members of the genus Onychomys: "skull presents a unique combination of characters including relatively broad braincase, weak zygomatic arches that flare far laterally, broad across anterior roots of the zygoma, and broad rostrum with wedge-shaped nasals; coronoid process of mandible ascends more dorsally than does condyloid process; cheek teeth with labial and lingual cusps about equal height, mesoloph always lacking in upper teeth, M3/3 peglike, transverse valleys extend entirely across cheek teeth..."
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Holotype: USNM 20081/35483. Onychomys arenicola. Adult male. Rio Grande, El Paso, El Paso County, Texas. Collected 29 February 1892. Dorsal view of the skull. -
Holotype: USNM 20081/35483. Onychomys arenicola. Adult male. Rio Grande, El Paso, El Paso County, Texas. Collected 29 February 1892. Ventral view of the skull. -
Holotype: USNM 20081/35483. Onychomys arenicola. Adult male. Rio Grande, El Paso, El Paso County, Texas. Collected 29 February 1892. Lateral view of the skull. -
Holotype: USNM 20081/35483. Onychomys arenicola. Adult male. Rio Grande, El Paso, El Paso County, Texas. Collected 29 February 1892. Dorsal view of the mandible. -
Holotype: USNM 20081/35483. Onychomys arenicola. Adult male. Rio Grande, El Paso, El Paso County, Texas. Collected 29 February 1892. Lateral view of the left mandible.
Calls
The following call was provided by the Pasch Lab at the University of Arizona. For details regarding vocal production and vocal divergence in grasshopper mice, see Campbell et al. (2019).
Similar species
From Schmidly & Bradley (2016): "Similar to O. leucogaster but smaller, with relatively longer tail and smaller teeth."
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Holotype: USNM 20081/35483. Onychomys arenicola. Adult male. Rio Grande, El Paso, El Paso County, Texas. Collected 29 February 1892. -
Northern Grasshopper Mouse (Onychomys leucogaster)
References
Campbell P, Arévalo L, Martin H, Chen C, Sun S, Rowe AH, Webster MS, Searle JB, Pasch B. 2019. Vocal divergence is concordant with genomic evidence for strong reproductive isolation in grasshopper mice (Onychomys). Ecology and Evolution (9):12886-12896. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5770
Hoffmeister DF. 1986. Mammals of Arizona. Tucson (AZ, USA): University of Arizona Press.
Mearns EA. 1896-05-25. Preliminary diagnoses of new mammals from the Mexican border of the United States. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 19(1103):137-140.
Schmidly DJ, Bradley RD. 2016. The mammals of Texas. Austin (TX, USA): University of Texas Press.