The narrow-skulled pocket mouse (''Chaetodipus artus'') is a species of

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 Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal specie ...

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 only 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 foun ...

to western

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, living west of the

Sierra Madre Occidental The Sierra Madre Occidental is a major mountain range system of the North American Cordillera, that runs northwest–southeast through northwestern and western Mexico, and along the Gulf of California. The Sierra Madre is part of the American C ...

crest.

Description

The narrow-skulled pocket mouse is a medium-sized species growing to a length of about including a tail of about . Males are slightly larger than females. The skull is smaller and narrower than that of Goldman's pocket mouse (''Chaetodipus goldmani'') which is native to the same parts of Mexico. Apart from the skull, other features which distinguish it from Goldman's pocket mouse include a less hairy but more scaly tail with a wider dorsal stripe, a smaller total length, darker ears and darker, less-grizzled dorsal fur. In the drainage of the Rio Septentrion this species has a darker coat than elsewhere. The reason for this may lie in the fact that the soil is darker in this area and pale individuals are more easily spotted by diurnal

predators Predation is a biological interaction in which 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 ...

. It feeds on seeds.

Distribution and habitat

The narrow-skulled pocket mouse is endemic to Mexico and is found in the states of Chihuahua,

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...

and

Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities, and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales. It is located in northwest Mexic ...

. It is found in different habitats in different parts of its range. In Chihuahua it is restricted to rocky areas and canyons while in Durango it occurs in humid tropical forests on the western foothills of the

. In Sonora it occurs among

mesquite Mesquite is a common name for some plants in the genera ''Neltuma'' and '' Strombocarpa'', which contain over 50 species of spiny, deep-rooted leguminous shrubs and small trees. They are native to dry areas in the Americas. Until 2022, these ge ...

(''Prosopis juliflora'') in sandy areas near the Rio Mayo, in the bottoms of gullies and on the verges of cultivated land and in northern Sinaloa it occurs at higher altitudes in more humid, short-tree woodland. Where it co-occurs with Goldman's pocket mouse it usually occupies more riverine habitats while Goldman's pocket mouse occupies drier places away from the rivers. Other mammals sharing its habitat include the

painted spiny pocket mouse The painted spiny pocket mouse (''Heteromys pictus'') is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is found in Mexico and the northern tip of Guatemala. It was formerly placed in the genus ''Liomys'', which is now recognized to be parap ...

(''Liomys pictus''), the Sinaloan pocket mouse (''Chaetodipus pernix''), the southern grasshopper mouse (''Onychomys torridus''), the

white-throated woodrat The white-throated woodrat (''Neotoma albigula'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found from central Mexico north to Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western ...

(''Neotoma albigula''), the

cactus mouse The cactus mouse or cactus deermouse (''Peromyscus eremicus'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is a species of the genus ''Peromyscus'', a closely related group of New World mice often called "deermice". They are native to des ...

(''Peromyscus eremicus'') and the

antelope jackrabbit The antelope jackrabbit (''Lepus alleni''), also known as Allen's hare, is a species of North American hare in the family Leporidae found in southern Arizona and northwestern Mexico. Considered the "handsomest" of the hares, it occupies dry dese ...

(''Lepus alleni'').

Conservation status

The narrow-skulled pocket mouse is common throughout much of its wide range and its total population size is presumed to be large. It is found in some protected areas but when it moves into agricultural land, it is at risk of

rodenticide Rodenticides are chemicals made and sold for the purpose of killing rodents. While commonly referred to as "rat poison", rodenticides are also used to kill mice, woodchucks, chipmunks, porcupines, nutria, beavers, and voles. Some rodenticides ...

s being used to poison it. The

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

has rated it as being of "

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

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q153587 Mammals described in 1900

Narrow-skulled Pocket Mouse The narrow-skulled pocket mouse (''Chaetodipus artus'') is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is endemic to western Mexico, living west of the Sierra Madre Occidental crest. Description The narrow-skulled pocket mouse is a mediu ...

Endemic mammals of Mexico Fauna of the Sierra Madre Occidental Taxa named by Wilfred Hudson Osgood Taxonomy articles created by Polbot