Mearns's grasshopper mouse or the Chihuahuan grasshopper mouse (''Onychomys arenicola'') is a

grasshopper mouse Grasshopper mice are rodents of the genus ''Onychomys'', occurring in North America. They feed on insects and other arthropods. Biology The three species in this genus of New World mice are only distantly related to the common house mouse, '' ...

found in southwestern

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

West Texas West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the arid and semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Abilene, and Del Rio. No consensus exists on the boundary betwe ...

, and north-central

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

. They are similar to ''

Onychomys torridus The southern grasshopper mouse or scorpion mouse (''Onychomys torridus'') is a species of predatory rodent in the family Cricetidae, native to Mexico and the states of Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah in the United States. Nota ...

'', but differ in

karyotype A karyotype is the general appearance of the complete set of metaphase chromosomes in the cells of a species or in an individual organism, mainly including their sizes, numbers, and shapes. Karyotyping is the process by which a karyotype is disce ...

and size. This mouse is smaller in every regard except for the nasal length of the skull. They are found in semiarid habitat,

prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

, and scrub. They feed largely on insects and other invertebrates, including

scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always endi ...

s. They also feed on small

muroid rodents The Muroidea are a large superfamily of rodents, including mice, rats, voles, hamsters, lemmings, gerbils, and many other relatives. Although the Muroidea originated in Eurasia, they occupy a vast variety of habitats on every continent exce ...

and

pocket mice Perognathinae is a subfamily of rodents consisting of two genera of pocket mice. Most species live in complex burrows within the deserts and grasslands of western North America, They feed mostly on seeds and other plant parts, which they carr ...

References

*Nowak, R. M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World, Vol. 2. Johns Hopkins University Press, London. {{Taxonbar, from=Q943069 Onychomys Mammals described in 1896 Taxa named by Edgar Alexander Mearns