Baird's pocket mouse
Perognathus flavus
Summary 3
The silky pocket mouse (Perognathus flavus) is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is found in Mexico, the United States, and South America. It is a species of least concern, according to the IUCN, with no known major threats. They eat seeds, succulent plant parts, nuts, and carry food in their cheeks. The silky pocket mouse lives in low valley bottoms with soft soils, where they can live among weeds and shrubs and...
Description 4
The smallest Perognathus species of all, the Silky Pocket Mouse is among the smallest rodents in North America. These Mice are most active on cool, humid nights, typically foraging for fallen seeds by sifting sand with their tiny forepaws. Sometimes they climb the stems of grasses to harvest seeds that have not yet fallen. They carry nesting materials and seeds back to the burrow in their fur-lined cheek pouches, and store seeds within the burrow. The Mice do not hibernate in winter, but remain active within their burrows, fueled by a cache of seeds. Silky Pocket Mice have not often reproduced in captivity, so knowledge about their reproductive habits is somewhat sketchy. They are known to have one or two litters a year, depending on climate and food availability. Two to six young are born in a litter, after a gestation of about four weeks.
Links:
Mammal Species of the World
Click here for The American Society of Mammalogists species account
Sources and Credits
- (c) Biodiversity Heritage Library, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6180/6217227436_0007b017db_o.jpg
- (c) Bob Beatson from Tucson, Arizona, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Perognathus_flavus.jpg
- (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perognathus_flavus
- (c) Smithsonian Institution, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://eol.org/data_objects/6625329
