Perognathus longimembris
| Little Pocket Mouse
(Perognathus longimembris) | |
|---|---|
| Range | |
 | |
| Taxonomic classification | |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Suborder: | Supramyomorpha |
| Infraorder: | Castorimorphi |
| Superfamily: | Geomyoidea |
| Family: | Heteromyidae |
| Subfamily: | Perognathinae |
| Genus: | Perognathus |
| Subgenus: | Perognathus (subgenus) |
| Binomial details | |
| Perognathus longimembris (Coues, 1875) | |
| Other resources | |
| Full taxonomic details at MDD | |
Description
From Hall & Kelson (1959): "Upper parts approximately pinkish- or ochraceous-buff, the exact shades varying markedly geographically, overlaid with black or blackish hairs to a greater or lesser extent so that some subspecies appear quite dark and others are distinctly buffy in over-all tone; underparts pale tawny to buffy or white, sometimes pectoral region alone is white and remainder tawny or buffy; tail usually bicolored."
From Ceballos (ed., 2014) for Mexico: "As its common name indicates, Perognathus longimembris is a small mouse, with a pink-creamy coloration. The tail is long, greater than the length of body and head, bicolored or pale, hairier on the distal one-third, and with a tuft of hair at the tip. The posterior one-third of the soles of the hind feet is hairy."
From Jameson & Peeters (2004) for California: "A small, pink buff pocket mouse. Its tail is either bicolored or evenly pale; it is more heavily furred on the distal third and it is tufted on the distal 3–7 mm. The posterior third of the sole of the hind foot is hairy."
Museum specimens
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Holotype: 99828. Perognathus longimembris bangsi. Adult male. San Felipe Narrows, San Diego County, California. Collected 11 April 1892. -
Holotype: 99828. Perognathus longimembris bangsi. Adult male. San Felipe Narrows, San Diego County, California. Collected 11 April 1892.
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) | 112–138 | 50–76 | 17–20 | 7–10 | |
| not reported | Ceballos (editor, 2014) | 110–115 | 53–83 | 15–20 | 5–7 | 7–10 |
Variation
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Borrowed from Kozak et al. (2024). Arid habitats of P. longimembris: A) Harrisburg Flat, Death Valley National Park, Inyo County, California, United States; B) Bullrush Canyon, Mohave County, Arizona, USA. C) P. l. panamintinus and (D) torpid P. l. arizonensi. Pelage of pocket mice matches the color of the local soil.
Skull
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Holotype: 99828. Perognathus longimembris bangsi. Adult male. San Felipe Narrows, San Diego County, California. Collected 11 April 1892. Dorsal view of the skull. -
Holotype: 99828. Perognathus longimembris bangsi. Adult male. San Felipe Narrows, San Diego County, California. Collected 11 April 1892. Dorsal view of the skull. Black arrows identify the interorbital width. The interparietal bone is colored yellow. -
Holotype: 99828. Perognathus longimembris bangsi. Adult male. San Felipe Narrows, San Diego County, California. Collected 11 April 1892. Ventral view of the skull. -
Holotype: 99828. Perognathus longimembris bangsi. Adult male. San Felipe Narrows, San Diego County, California. Collected 11 April 1892. Lateral view of the skull. -
Holotype: 99828. Perognathus longimembris bangsi. Adult male. San Felipe Narrows, San Diego County, California. Collected 11 April 1892. Dorsal view of the mandible. -
Holotype: 99828. Perognathus longimembris bangsi. Adult male. San Felipe Narrows, San Diego County, California. Collected 11 April 1892. Lateral view of the left mandible.
Subspecies
See Patton and Fisher's 2023 taxonomic reassessment for Perognathus longimembris
Similar species
References
Ceballos G, editor. 2014. Mammals of Mexico. Baltimore (MD, USA): Johns Hopkins University Press.
Coues E. 1875-08-31. A critical review of the North American Saccomyidae. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 27(2):272-327.
Hall ER, Kelson KR. 1959. The Mammals of North America. The Ronald Press Company, New York.
Kozak KM, Escalona M, Chumchim N, Fairbairn C, Marimuthu MP, Nguyen O, Sahasrabudhe R, Seligmann W, Conroy C, Patton JL, Bowie RC. 2024. A highly contiguous genome assembly for the pocket mouse Perognathus longimembris longimembris. Journal of Heredity 115(1): 130-138.
Patton JL, Fisher RN. 2023. Taxonomic reassessment of the Little pocket mouse, Perognathus longimembris (Rodentia, Heteromyidae) of southern California and northern Baja California. Therya 14(1):pp.131-160.
Jameson EW, Peeters HJ. 2004. Mammals of California (No. 66). Berkeley (CA, USA): University of California Press.