Plains Pocket Mouse
Perognathus flavescensSummary 1
The plains pocket mouse (Perognathus flavescens) is a heteromyid rodent of North America. It ranges from southwestern Minnesota and southeastern North Dakota to northern Texas east of the Rockies, and from northern Utah and Colorado to northern Chihuahua west of the Rockies.
Description 2
The color of the Plains Pocket Mouse varies with soil color. The black volcanic sands near Flagstaff, Arizona harbor mice with nearly black fur, and mice with nearly white fur match the white gypsum dunes of New Mexico. Plains Pocket Mice are shy and nocturnal. Bright moonlit nights suppress their activity, perhaps because it would expose them to predators such as owls. Although Plains Pocket Mice are seed-eaters, they also eat insects, either when those are abundant, or when seeds are scarcer. When they are in their burrows, they plug the entrance with soil, and sometimes add another plug farther into the tunnel.
Links:
Mammal Species of the World
Click here for The American Society of Mammalogists species account
Sources and Credits
- (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perognathus_flavescens
- (c) Smithsonian Institution, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://eol.org/data_objects/6625341
