The little desert pocket mouse (''Chaetodipus arenarius'') is a species of small

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are roden ...

in the family

Heteromyidae Heteromyidae is a family of rodents consisting of kangaroo rats, kangaroo mice, pocket mice and spiny pocket mice. Most heteromyids live in complex burrows within the deserts and grasslands of western North America, though species within the ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

to Baja California in Mexico.

Description

The little desert pocket mouse reaches a length of about including a tail of , with males being slightly larger than females. The fur is soft and fairly silky and there are none of the spines found in some related species though there may be a few soft bristles on the rump. The ears are dark and there is a tiny patch of white hairs at their base. The color of the dorsal surface varies from pale gray or pale buff to dark brown, and there may be some dark-tipped guard hairs giving a grizzled appearance. The upper half of the tail matches the dorsal color while the underparts of the body, the feet and lower side of the tail are white or cream-colored. There may be a buff-colored line separating the upper parts from the underparts, but it is faint or missing in some populations.

Distribution and habitat

The little desert pocket mouse is endemic to Mexico. Its range includes the Baja California peninsula,

Jacques Cousteau Island Isla Cerralvo (), as is commonly named, whose official name is Isla Jacques Cousteau (; ), is an island located off the Cerralvo Canal coast near La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico. It is long with a land area of , and is the ninth-largest isl ...

and

Magdalena Island Magdalena may refer to: * Magdalena (given name), a given name derived from Mary Magdalene (including a list of people with the name) Entertainment * Magdalena (comics), an American comic book superheroine * ''Magdalena'' (film), a 1920 Czecho ...

. Its typical habitat is arid flat areas with scant vegetation and loose, dry, sandy soils but it is also found on slopes and ridges, and even the floors of dried up riverbeds.

Ecology

Very little is known about the natural history and behavior of this pocket mouse. It lives in a burrow and seems to have an affinity for sandy soils. Its breeding habits are not known but a female specimen containing two

embryo An embryo is an initial stage of development of a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male sperm ...

s was caught in March. Its main

predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill ...

is the

barn owl The barn owl (''Tyto alba'') is the most widely distributed species of owl in the world and one of the most widespread of all species of birds, being found almost everywhere except for the polar and desert regions, Asia north of the Himala ...

(''Tyto alba'').

Status

Although the population trend of the little desert pocket mouse has not been evaluated, it is common in suitable habitat within its range and does not appear to face any specific threat. In view of this and its presumed large total population, the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natur ...

has assessed its conservation status as being of "

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. Th ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q153752 Chaetodipus Endemic mammals of Mexico Mammals described in 1894 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Endemic fauna of the Baja California Peninsula