Southern Grasshopper Mouse
Onychomys torridusSummary 1
The southern grasshopper mouse (Onychomys torridus) is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in Mexico and in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah in the United States. It is notable for its resistance to venom, and routinely kills and eats Arizona bark scorpions, a species with a highly poisonous sting.
Description 2
Southern Grasshopper Mice are also known as scorpion Mice: they are able to kill (and then eat) scorpions, by first immobilizing the venomous tail and then biting the head. They also prey on beetles that secrete defensive chemicals from the tip of the abdomen, by jamming the pointed barb into the ground and then striking a deathblow to the head. Of the three species of grasshopper mice, the southern Grasshopper Mouse inhabits the driest regions. Although it does not have the physiological adaptations of some other desert rodents, such as kangaroo rats or pocket mice, it may be able to get enough water from the bodies of its prey - arthropods and small mammals - to live without drinking water.
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/Onychomys_torridus
- (c) Smithsonian Institution, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://eol.org/data_objects/6625270
